Podcasts about Redemption

Lunch time talks turn to midnight tracks. The magic of podcasting in it's purest form. Pass the soup and sandwich and let's tune into banger after banger, from the likes of RASKOL, PRESSURE PACT, NO WARNING, YOUTH AVOIDERS, TOTALNA TAMA, LAVENDER, POWERPLANT, DEAD ON YOUR FEET, REDEMPTION 87, EARLY GRAVE, RENEE HEARTFELT, and more. Let's go.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MSRcast is back with Episode 329, and this time we're recapping ProgPower USA XXV in Atlanta! Cary the Metal Geek and Sean the Metal Pigeon look back at an epic week of progressive and power metal, sharing their favorite sets, standout performances, and highlights from the festival. We also talk about the shows and events surrounding ProgPower throughout the week and what made this year's trip memorable. Cary also sticks around for an extra day in Atlanta and checks out Nicko McBrain's Tartanium Tart, bringing even more metal stories to the episode. Plus, we spin some killer tracks from Scardust, Firewind, Voyager, and Redemption! Featured Tracks: Scardust – “Symphony” (feat. Mia Asano) Firewind – “The Legend of Achilles” Voyager – “White Shadow” – Univers Redemption – “The Suffocating Silence” – The Origins of Ruin Turn it up and relive ProgPower USA XXV with MSRcast! Explore the metal universe at msrcast.com, your one-stop hub for all things MSRcast. Immerse yourself in podcast archives, interviews, reviews, and more.  Connect with us via msrcast@gmail.com, and stay updated on our socials @msrcast and @themetalpigeon. Connect with Cary and Sean on Facebook! Be sure to like our official fan page at facebook.com/msrcastofficial for all the latest updates, and join the conversation in our official Facebook group, the Metal Geeks Society—where metalheads and geeks unite! Spread the metal love – share the show, subscribe on iTunes, and leave a review. Keep It Metal!

With a Leatherback attack underway, our heroes race to save the homesteaders, and meet their shadowy enemies in battle for the first time... Cast! Adam Beltaine is your GM, and can be found on Bluesky as @maddambeltaine.bsky.social  Lou plays Tryk C Rangavoon, and can be found on Bluesky at @magpiehound.bsky.social Mikey plays Jax Vorn, and can be found on Bluesky at @weaselpunk.bsky.social  Tom plays Kip Kazian and can be found on Bluesky at @tcpatrick.bsky.social as well as GMing the wonderful Dice Company podcast Geoff plays Kalro Vatts, and sensibly has no social media presence Follow us on social media! All our links can now be found here: linktr.ee/albertthellama Support Albert the Llama Enterprises!  If you like what we do and have some spare money, we have both a Patreon and a Ko-Fi account. We are extremely grateful for your support. https://www.patreon.com/forcemajeurepod ko-fi.com/forcemajeurepod Intro and Supplemental Music: Composed by Sly Fox Audio - check out more of her stuff on soundcloud.com/slyfoxaudio Additional Music: "Electric Dubstep Violin 6" by Sascha Ende (ende.app) All used with gratitude under the Creative Commons licence

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Dylan, Alex, and Jerry link up to discuss their takes for this upcoming season. Cason Wallace Extension talk Redemption season for Chet and Dub How many wins? Who finishes first in the East? McCain and 3's 3 All-stars? Ajay Mitchell Which rookie surprises? Who won't win MVP? And much more... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We welcome Andrea Ferrari to discuss his book The Fall and Redemption of Conscience: A Reformed Biblical Theology. Ferrari, pastor of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia in Italy, explains why conscience has received comparatively little attention in modern Protestant theology and considers the influence of psychology, Karl Barth, John Webster, and John Calvin on contemporary accounts of conscience.The conversation develops a biblical and theological account of conscience from creation to new creation. Ferrari addresses whether Adam possessed a conscience before the fall, the Old Testament vocabulary of heart, kidneys, and clean hands, Calvin's sensus divini judicii, the Trinitarian basis of human self-awareness, and the effects of justification and sanctification upon a guilty conscience. The episode concludes with practical implications for preaching, counseling, and the Christian life, along with an update on Ferrari's ministry in Perugia.LinksEpisode pageThe Fall and Redemption of ConscienceChiesa Riformata di PerugiaChapters00:00 Introduction03:12 Andrea Ferrari's Ministry in Perugia12:43 A New Study Center near the University19:11 The Fall and Redemption of Conscience24:33 Why Conscience Disappeared from Modern Theology28:41 Karl Barth and General Revelation32:12 Did Adam Have a Conscience before the Fall?49:27 Conscience in the Old Testament58:53 Defining Conscience as Perceptual Awareness64:23 Calvin's Sensus Divini Judicii65:27 The Trinitarian Context of Conscience74:23 The Fallen Conscience and the Imagination80:10 Training the Senses in Hebrews 5:1481:47 The Justified Conscience86:43 Sanctification and the Healing of Conscience93:23 Pastoral Counseling and Preaching to the Conscience100:02 Ministry Reflections and Conclusion

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the Maple Leafs' roster entering the season, the new-look and revamped team, Auston Matthews' impact to the team, Gavin McKenna's spotlight, the outline of the power play, Sergei Bobrovsky's crease effect, Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck's futures, Connor McDavid topping the TSN Top 50 NHL Players list and more.

We welcome Rev. Dr. Andrea Ferrari to discuss his book The Fall and Redemption of Conscience: A Reformed Biblical Theology. Ferrari, pastor of the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia in Italy, […]

Send us Fan MailSend us Fan MailIn this thought-provoking episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are joined by Ryan Cummings, a dedicated criminal attorney and managing partner of RR Law Group. Ryan is a passionate advocate for second chances, believing that a single mistake should not dictate a person's future. With extensive experience representing clients facing serious charges, Ryan shares his insights on the complexities of the criminal justice system and the importance of hope and education in helping individuals reclaim their lives.Throughout the discussion, Ryan reflects on the transformative power of second chances, illustrating how he has witnessed clients rewrite their stories after facing dire circumstances. He emphasizes the need for clarity and safety in the legal process, and how providing hope can empower individuals to make better choices moving forward.Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on common misunderstandings about the law and the vital role of education in preventing life-altering mistakes. Ryan also discusses his engaging YouTube channel, *Brother at Law*, aimed at demystifying legal concepts and making legal advice more accessible to everyday people.What You'll Learn in This Episode:- The significance of hope and safety in the legal process- How individuals can overcome past mistakes and create a better future- Insights into the slow-moving nature of the criminal justice system- The importance of education in preventing legal troubles- Details about Ryan's outreach initiatives and his YouTube channel, *Brother at Law*For more information on Ryan Cummings and to explore his resources, visit rrlawaz.com and check out his YouTube channel for valuable legal insights.Support the show

What is the Body?The body is a fence the Son of God imagines he has built, to separate parts of his Self from other parts. It is within this fence he thinks he lives, to die as it decays and crumbles. For within this fence he thinks that he is safe from love. Identifying with his safety, he regards himself as what his safety is. How else could he be certain he remains within the body, keeping love outside?The body will not stay. Yet this he sees as double safety. For the Son of God's impermanence is “proof” his fences work, and do the task his mind assigns to them. For if his oneness still remained untouched, who could attack and who could be attacked? Who could be victor? Who could be his prey? Who could be victim? Who the murderer? And if he did not die, what “proof” is there that God's eternal Son can be destroyed?The body is a dream. Like other dreams it sometimes seems to picture happiness, but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every dream is born. For only love creates in truth, and truth can never fear. Made to be fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it. But we can change the purpose that the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.The body is the means by which God's Son returns to sanity. Though it was made to fence him into hell without escape, yet has the goal of Heaven been exchanged for the pursuit of hell. The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother, and to help him walk along the road with him. Now is the body holy. Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to kill.You will identify with what you think will make you safe. Whatever it may be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your safety lies in truth, and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and find your Self.LESSON 261God Is My Refuge And Security.I will identify with what I think is refuge and security. I will behold myself where I perceive my strength, and think I live within the citadel where I am safe and cannot be attacked. Let me today seek not security in danger, nor attempt to find my peace in murderous attack. I live in God. In Him I find my refuge and my strength. In Him is my Identity. In Him is everlasting peace. And only there will I remember Who I really am.Let me not seek for idols. I would come, my Father, home to You today. I choose to be as You created me, and find the Son whom You created as my Self.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

Joby Walters was a feared and respected enforcer of the Hells Angels, patched in by the infamous Sonny Barger, founding member of the motorcycle club's Oakland charter. He lived the life of an outlaw – filled with violence, darkness and constant risk – but he knew deep down that something was missing.After getting busted by the ATF on RICO charges, Joby went on the run. A lifelong friend sent him a box containing a Bible, some literature and a cassette tape of sermons. That box changed Joby's life. He was eventually intercepted by the FBI, and while incarcerated, his life's purpose became clear.Joby discovered a freedom that no motorcycle club could offer. Today, he dedicates his life to sharing that message of hope with prisoners, bikers, veterans, and anyone searching for a second chance. In his new book, CUT FREE: A HELLS ANGEL'S RIDE TO REDEMPTION, Joby tells his remarkable true story with unflinching honesty—revealing both the darkness of his past and the redemption that transformed his future. With a special place in his heart for prisoners, Joby is focusing his efforts on reaching America's prisons, bringing hope to those behind bars.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Abide: Staying Connected to Jesus with Jeannie Cunnion – John 15In Episode 152 of Divine Table Talk, Jamie and Jane welcome back author and Bible teacher Jeannie Cunnion for a powerful conversation about one of the central invitations of John 15: Abide in Me.What does it actually look like to abide in Jesus—not just during quiet time or Bible study, but in the middle of busy schedules, difficult seasons, relationships, parenting, work, and everyday life?Together, Jamie, Jane, and Jeannie explore the difference between striving for God and staying connected to God. They unpack Jesus' picture of the Vine and the branches, why fruit is the result of abiding rather than performing, and how we can recognize when we've begun trying to produce in our own strength.They also talk honestly about pruning, surrender, intimacy with Jesus, and learning to remain in His love when God seems to be cutting away things we thought we needed.John 15 reminds us that Jesus isn't asking us to manufacture more fruit. He's inviting us to stay close to the Vine.If you've been tired from striving, questioning a season of pruning, or simply longing for deeper intimacy with Jesus, pull up a chair. This conversation is an invitation to stop performing—and start abiding.Reflection Question: Am I trying to produce fruit for Jesus—or am I staying close enough to Him that fruit becomes the natural result?____________________________________Connect with Jeannie Cunnion:Website: https://www.jeanniecunnion.com/____________________________________Connect with Jamie:Website: www.jamieklusacek.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamieklusacekConnect with Jane:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janewwilliams____________________________________ Get Jamie's Newest Book:Living Loved: An 8-week Journey to Living Fully Loved

I sat down with Thurston County Commissioner Rachel Grant for a powerful and deeply human conversation about recovery, redemption, second chances, and public service.Rachel shared her story of becoming a young mother, losing her son's father, struggling with drug use, being arrested, going through Thurston County Drug Court, rebuilding her life, and eventually becoming a Thurston County Commissioner.This conversation is not just about politics. It is about the human behind the title.We talked about addiction, recovery, motherhood, grief, foster care, behavioral health, housing, workforce, mentorship, public service, and what it means to turn lived experience into service.Rachel also shared the story of how she was encouraged to run for commissioner, what she has learned in the role, and why she believes people who have been impacted by systems need to be part of the decisions that shape those systems.If you live in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Tenino, Rochester, Rainier, Bucoda, or anywhere in Thurston County, I believe this is a conversation worth hearing.

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Owen McCown and the UTSA Roadrunners put the past behind them as they went on the road and secured a major victory for the program, coming from behind to defeat the Texas State Bobcats in San Marcos with a clutch game-ending drive. Unfortunately the Roadrunners will have a difficult time turning that inspiring win into sustainable momentum as they'll face the #1 team in the nation this week. We preview the Texas Longhorns with an assist from our old friend Eric Henry, and discuss whether playing this series still makes sense in 2026. 0:00 Riding High After Beating Texas State 6:13 Owen McCown's Redemption 15:24 Grit, Mistakes & Finding "Triangle of Toughness" Magic 21:08 Defense Holds Up, Then Bowie's Playcalling Gets Dissected 29:52 Remaining Concerns for the Team 41:42 Eric Henry Joins: Texas's New DC & Offensive Turnaround 49:43 Returning Stars, Arch Manning & The Ohio State Comeback 58:10 Program Spending, NIL Transparency & the Future of Buy Games 1:10:48 Is It Worth It? UTSA's Power Two Philosophy Debate 1:19:34 Score Predictions Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69q3Cc6GAQ

Rabbi Yitzchak Shurin - Are You Awaiting Redemption? - 27th Annual Yahrtzeit Shiur in memory of Dora J Bleiman a"h by Shapell's Rabbeim

**TRIGGER WARNING** This has got to be one of the most shocking yet edifying conversations we've had this far. Join me as I discuss with Pastor Chris Davi's to witness how a man can go from a violent past to encountering God in unprecedented ways!Part 2 dropping 7/18Find Resources from Chris Davi's website: www.biblicallyshaped.comBooks: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09K9PH3N4#God #saved #gospelsongsSupport this Platform: We Need to TalkJoin this channel to view Episodes Early:   / @weneed2talktv  We Need to Heal Virtual Tixhttps://www.zeffy.com/newsletter-form...Donate to WE NEED TO HEAL https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-...Men's Conference “ RESTORED” https://www.restoredmen.com/FIRE SESSIONS & COMMUNITY (LIVE PRAYER ONCE A MONTH) https://www.skool.com/we-need-to-comm...Financially Support this Podcast:$TheAzonwusPayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...Zelle: fwdprodinc@gmail.com Social media: Wordsbyezekiel Weneed2tlkpodcastListen to all podcast eplpisodes:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0TKwMpq...FREEDOM GUIDEhttps://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2...Join Band of Brothers Men's Grouphttps://bandofbrothersintl.org/Book Us for an Event: http://www.wordsbyezekiel.com/bookeze...Merch: Wordsbyezekiel.com/shop Submit Your Story for a chance to feature - Email 5-10 min VIDEO LINK to: TheAzonwus@gmail.com

Angela Stanton King-A story of redemption and what can happen with a second chance. Pardon Process helps individuals across America understand and navigate the regular state and federal pardon processes available to the public. From determining the correct jurisdiction to understanding potential eligibility and preparing the next steps, we help make a complicated process easier to understand.is Since receiving both a Federal and State Pardon in 2019, my life has taken a remarkable turn for the better. I no longer face the barriers that once held me back due to my past mistakes. These pardons have not only granted me a fresh start but have also liberated me from the constraints of my previous errors. With this new lease on life, I am free to pursue opportunities that were once out of reach, embracing a future filled with promise and potential." PardonProcess.com

Welcome to a special scripture-focused bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, where pastor Matt Whitman helps us explore the book of Matthew, spanning its genealogy, the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. By examining Jesus’ ministry and life as a fulfilled prophecy, the episode reveals the foundations of Christianity and the hope found in realizing our place in the narrative. Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Matt Whitman The book of Matthew The Lightning-Fast Field Guide to the Bible Interview Quotes: “At the end of the Old Testament, you’ve got these promises hanging out there that God’s going to redeem everything, but there isn’t a clear timeline on it. And then you turn the page over to Matthew, and the hope starts, and the clarification on the whole arc of history starts, and this is where the Bible really begins to come into focus.” - Matt Whitman “You meet Jesus, and you start to realize this is for me. I am part of this story. I am invited into this thing and I’m getting a sense of where I fit.” - Matt Whitman “Right there at the front end of Matthew, we’re being told that Jesus is not a new thing. This was always the plan, this is more than just the next step in the plan, this is the culminating event in the plans.” - Matt Whitman “We can’t solve the problem. We need God to step into the muck and into the mess. If there is any solution to the curse from all the way back in the garden, it’s going to have to come from God. And Matthew is saying, ‘Open your eyes. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.’” - Matt Whitman “How many of us have prayed that God would show us what is true, show us what is real? In Matthew 3, God shows up and affirms that He sent Jesus, that He is the Son of God, and that He is pleased with Jesus and what He’s about to do. It sets the stage for everything.” - Matt Whitman “The first stuff that Jesus teaches publicly is the beloved beatitudes. He throws down this gauntlet and is saying right out of the gate, “I’m a King, there is a kingdom, and the rules of my kingdom are different than the world’s kingdoms.’” - Matt Whitman “One of the very first things that Jesus clarifies is that this isn’t a new religion. This was always the plan. Redemption would always come through Christ. God would always be with us. Jesus is the completion and fulfillment of all of it, not something new.” - Matt Whitman “Jesus has demonstrated power over life, death, distance. It seems like He should be so completely ‘other’ that He would be detached from humanity. But instead, he says ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I’ll give you rest.’” - Matt Whitman “Jesus is not coming to heap more things upon people. The load of sin, the load of human frailty, is very heavy. And the answer to this is Christ. That is where hope can be found.” - Matt Whitman “Death is defeated, the story finds its symmetry, and we feel great about it, but we feel even better when we realize we are in this story. You are heirs and agents of this kingdom. You are an honored son or daughter of the King.” - Matt Whitman “Our hope was always in the main character of this book, who is Crhist, and who is present and who has changed our identity and invited us to participate in building His kingdom.” - Matt Whitman ________________________ Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok *Episode produced by Four Eyes Media* Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Home is where the horror is this week, with Chris Panatier and Worry Box!   This latest offering from Panatier's uniquely strange mind is a complete revision of the haunted house as we know it. It's a house that means well, but understands little. Couple that with a family in flux and a child suffering intrusive thoughts, and you have a recipe for terrible, no-good disaster.   In short, it's 400 pages of slowly tightening dread! I hope you enjoy.   Other books mentioned: The Redemption of Morgan Bright (2024), by Chris Panatier This House isn't Haunted but We Are (2025), by Stephen Howard Our Cut of Salt (2026), by Deena Helm Pet Semetary (1983), by Stephen King The Library at Mount Char (2015), by Scott Hawkins Gideon the Ninth (2019), by Tamsyn Muir Gormenghast (1950), by Mervyn Peak Angel Down (2025), by Daniel Kraus Chimera Skin (2026), by Johnny Compton The Butcher of Nazareth (2026), by David Scott Hay   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can anybody become the good guy?We love a good redemption story. Darth Vader, Zuko, Loki, Nebula, Bucky Barnes and countless others have gone from villain, rival, or deeply broken person to someone we're rooting for. But what actually makes a redemption arc work? Is feeling sorry enough? Does the character have to make restitution? And are there some things a character simply can't come back from?Plus an update on the crew, who is leaving the show this season (and why?) and our latest BEST THING EVER!

Ephesians Series  Message: 02 Episode: 3 of 3 Broadcast: September 15, 2026 Key Verses: Ephesians 1:7-8 In this episode of Walk in Truth, Pastor Michael Lantz continues the study in Ephesians with a teaching titled "In Him We Have Redemption," based on Ephesians 1:7–8. Paul points us to the heart of the gospel: in Christ, believers have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God's grace. These verses remind us that our relationship with God is not built on our own efforts or accomplishments, but on what Christ has accomplished for us. God's grace is abundant, freely given, and sufficient for our greatest need. As Pastor Michael teaches through these verses, you'll be encouraged to better understand the freedom and forgiveness we have in Christ and to recognize the depth of God's grace toward those who belong to Him. This teaching will help equip you to walk through life as a Christian with greater confidence in the work of Jesus and a deeper appreciation for the grace, forgiveness, and redemption found in Him. Welcome to Walk in Truth! These are the Bible teachings of Pastor Michael Lantz. Equipping you to reach out with God's truth to all people. And how to apply that truth to today's issues, trends, and culture.  Leave your question or comment contact@walkintruth.com  

Living Truth Christian Fellowship Podcast

Sean Sheehan breaks down UFC 331, from Joshua Van's flyweight title rematch with Alexandre Pantoja to a pivotal lightweight showdown between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy.

What does the Bible really say about the end times, and how should we live knowing Jesus is coming back? In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus teaches about His return, the signs of the end times and the importance of being ready. While Christians may disagree on the details of how the end times will unfold, we can agree on what matters most: Jesus is coming back, salvation is found in Him alone and the invitation is open right now. Don't get so caught up in predicting when Jesus will return that you miss the point. The question isn't whether you have every detail figured out. The question is whether you know Him, love Him and have personally surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Link to A Night of Eschatology

Korey and Joe sit down with Brian Eubanks of Growlersburg Conservation Camp and Arborist Program. Brian and the guys discuss the reentry program at Growlersburg Conversation Camp #33. The program is jointly operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and CAL FIRE. The program works to not only train incarcerated individuals to become fully qualified firefighters, but has crews of incarcerated firefighters that operate under the direction of CAL FIRE. In addition to training firefighters, crews at the facility gain specialized instruction, including pathways toward arborist certifications and related wood/lumber processing skills utilized in conservation and community projects. The program works to help rehabilitate incarcerated people by providing them skills training and pathways to certifications to have the opportunity to find a new career path once released. In addition to Brian Eubanks, Korey and Joe are also joined by; Americo Aguirre (Incarcerated Person), Ernest Harmon (ARC Reentry Specialist), Marcus Williams (ARC Credible Messenger), and Lt. Mike Hill (CDCR) in the episode. If you enjoyed the podcast please rate, review, subscribe and tell a fellow tree lover! Send your questions or topics you would like us to discuss to ⁠info@discoveringforestrypodcast.com⁠.Be sure to follow us on all your favorite social media platforms!Twitter/X: @DisForestryPodInstagram: @discovering_forestryFacebook: Discovering ForestryYouTube: @discoveringforestry6905LinkedIn: Discovering Forestry PodcastMusic credit:⁠ Cool Tools Music Video - "Timber"⁠   ⁠Muzaproduction “Sport Rock Logo 1”⁠Hosted by: Joe Aiken & Korey LofyProduced by: Nico Manganiello

In this week’s episode of Words of Grace, we share the second part of our study from Matthew chapter 25, in which we consider Christ's words to the sheep, gathered on His right hand in the final judgment at the end of time. More specifically, we consider the evidences of God’s work in their lives; … Continue reading "The Judgment, from Matthew’s Gospel (Part 2)"

This week, Pastor Jake Slebodnik teaches out of 1 Corinthians 12:21-31.WEBSITETo learn more about Redemption Tempe, find ways to get involved,  or opportunities to serve, visit our website: https://tempe.redemptionaz.com. OUR APPDownload our app redtem.in/tempeappSTAY CONNECTEDFacebook:    facebook.com/redemptiontempeInstagram:    instagram.com/redemptiontempeYoutube:       youtube.com/@RedemptionChurchTempeGIVINGEverything we have is a gift from the Lord because He owns it all. Therefore giving should be a priority for us who have received all we have. Giving cheerfully, sacrificially, and consistently is a part of our worship.Give Online: https://pushpay.com/g/redemptiontempe

In the gospels, Jesus often speaks of a plan and arrangement between the Father, Son, and Spirit for the salvation of God's people. Theologians have called this the "covenant of redemption." What does this show us about the source of our salvation and how does it lead us to confidence?

Ephesians Series  Message: 02 Episode: 2 of 3 Broadcast: September 14, 2026 Key Verses: Ephesians 1:7-8 In this episode of Walk in Truth, Pastor Michael Lantz continues the study in Ephesians with a teaching titled "In Him We Have Redemption," based on Ephesians 1:7–8. Paul points us to the heart of the gospel: in Christ, believers have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God's grace. These verses remind us that our relationship with God is not built on our own efforts or accomplishments, but on what Christ has accomplished for us. God's grace is abundant, freely given, and sufficient for our greatest need. As Pastor Michael teaches through these verses, you'll be encouraged to better understand the freedom and forgiveness we have in Christ and to recognize the depth of God's grace toward those who belong to Him. This teaching will help equip you to walk through life as a Christian with greater confidence in the work of Jesus and a deeper appreciation for the grace, forgiveness, and redemption found in Him. Welcome to Walk in Truth! These are the Bible teachings of Pastor Michael Lantz. Equipping you to reach out with God's truth to all people. And how to apply that truth to today's issues, trends, and culture.  Leave your question or comment contact@walkintruth.com  

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Living Truth Christian Fellowship Podcast

We get to Luke chapter 4, and it starts off with one of the most famous scenes in the Gospels; the Temptation of Jesus. Today we read this story a little bit differently than how it is usually utilized as a passage. We see four things in this story; Jesus is fighting the devil, the devil is fighting dependence on God, Jesus succeeds where humanity fails, and we need to depend on Jesus. Take a listen! 

Text and Be HeardA single phone call kept Mike from walking into the World Trade Center on the morning of 9/11, and nearly 25 years later the memory still lands with force. That moment of shock and clarity sets the tone for a New York City conversation about perspective, grief, and what it means to rebuild a life one day at a time. We're joined by Mike Williams, a compulsive gambler with 43 years of abstinence, and he doesn't sugarcoat what he sees when he looks at gambling culture now. We get real about the modern reality of gambling addiction: sports betting apps in your pocket, constant promos, prediction markets, and the feeling that temptation is everywhere. Mike describes the shift perfectly: what used to be “dynamite” has turned into “nuclear weapons,” especially when easy credit and predatory lenders enter the picture. Our north star is education and connection, because if people don't understand the disease model and the traps, families and futures get pulled under fast. Then the story turns hopeful and practical. Mike shares how he redirected the same obsessive energy that once powered gambling into school, earning a master's with straight A's and completing a PhD at 62. We also talk about self-esteem as the hidden driver behind so much action and relapse, and why the program principle “you're only as sick as the secrets you keep” can be a turning point. We even dig into how Gamblers Anonymous meetings evolved through COVID with Zoom, proving recovery can adapt and still stay strong. If you're trying to quit gambling, supporting someone who is, or worried about how normalized betting has become, this one will give you language, insight, and hope. Subscribe, share this with one person who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find a path back to living.Mike's Book:Amazon.com: From The A Train to PhD: A Journey of Survival, Gambling Addiction, Homelessness, Redemption, and Self-Improvement: 9780578836942: Williams, Dr. Michael P: BooksSupport the showRecovery is Beautiful.   Go Live Your Best Life!!Facebook Group - Recovery Freedom Circle | FacebookYour EQ is Your IQYouTube -    Life Is Wonderful   Hugo VRecovery Freedom CircleThe System That Understands Recovery, Builds Character  and Helps People Have Better Relationships.A Life Changing Solution, Saves You Time, 18 weekswww.lifeiswonderful.love  Instagram -  Lifeiswonderful.LoveTikTok -  Lifeiswonderful.LovePinterest -   Lifeiswonderful.LoveX -     LifeWonderLoveLinkedIn -   Hugo Vrsalovic    LinkedIn -   The 1% in Recovery

Matthew 5:14-1614“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.Daniel 11 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.8But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 16So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.17As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

What areas of your life feel like they are in ruins? Join us as we begin our new message series, Glorious Ruin, with Lead Pastor John S. Dickerson. We’ll explore what happens when life brings pain, brokenness, disappointment, and suffering—and how Jesus can meet us right there. Sometimes the places in our lives that feel broken can become the places where God does His greatest work. Jesus can help us rebuild, restore what has been broken, and establish a new foundation rooted in His love, grace, and hope. What aspects of your life are currently in ruins? How can Jesus help you build a new foundation in the midst of your pain, brokenness, and suffering? Your story isn’t over. God can bring beauty, purpose, and hope from the ruins. #GloriousRuin #Jesus #Faith #Hope #Healing #SpiritualGrowth #ChristianSermon #JohnSDickerson #ConnectionPointe NEXT STEPS Have you made a decision to follow Jesus and now wondering what your next step is? We want to help! https://www.connectionpointe.org/nextsteps/ ABOUT CONNECTION POINTE At Connection Pointe, our mission is to connect people to Jesus and each other. Whether you've been around church your whole life or this is a brand new journey, we have a place for you and we hope your journey will include joining us at a Connection Pointe location or online at https://connectionpointe.org/live Find locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.connectionpointe.org/ FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectionpointe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connect_cp Find out more about our lead pastor, John S. Dickerson: https://www.connectionpointe.org/leadpastor

The post Are You With Me? appeared first on Redemption's Hill Church.

The incarnation of Jesus is about so much more than "saving us from our sins." In taking on human-ness, Jesus redeems all of our life, down to the most ordinary part. Speaker: Pastor Scott Austin Part of the series “A Theology of the Ordinary”

The Scheme of Redemption Will Brooks

How do you watch Jesus provide again and again…and still panic when you're down to one loaf? In Mark 8:1–21, Jesus feeds thousands, the Pharisees demand another sign, and the disciples somehow forget what they've already seen Him do. And if we're being real, we do the exact same thing. We ask God to prove […]

When we think about giving, it's easy to focus on dollars and percentages, budgets and obligations. But throughout Scripture, God continually points to something deeper. Giving has never been primarily about what leaves our hands — it has always been about what shapes our hearts. Jesus taught that where our treasure is, our heart will be also, reminding us that generosity is ultimately an act of worship, trust, and love.

What happened at the cross of Jesus Christ? Dave Jenkins explains that Christ's death was not merely an example of love or a tragic death, but the accomplishment of redemption for sinners. This episode considers the seriousness of sin, Christ's substitutionary atonement, the satisfaction of God's justice, and the forgiveness and reconciliation secured through Christ alone.

By Dave Werner - Our calling is a beautiful process orchestrated by God and Jesus Christ from before the foundations of the world. How did we get to where we are today, and where are we going? What does the Feast of Trumpets ultimately mean for us as we are fully born into the God family?

Matthew Jenkins had a full ride Army scholarship and his whole future mapped out until a rare cancer diagnosis in college took it away. He carried anger at God over that loss for years without fully knowing it. In March of 2025, that anger collided with chronic pain, job loss, and a marriage he could not save, and he reached the lowest point of his life in his driveway. What he told his mother that day became the title of his book, Beat Up By God: From Pain to Redemption. This one goes to some dark places. A future that never got to happen. Twenty three years of unprocessed anger at God. A divorce he never wanted. And a church culture that too often says just trust God, when what a man actually needs might be counseling, medication, or both. We also talk about how he got from feeling abandoned by God to trusting Him again, an unexpected kind of healing that came out of the hardest season of his life, and what he wants a man standing in that same driveway to hear. If this hits close to home, you do not have to sit with it alone. Celebrate Recovery has groups all over the country, find one at crlocator.com. In crisis right now, call or text 988. CHAPTERS 0:00 The cold open, in his own words 1:15 Welcome, fair warning, and who Matthew Jenkins is 3:09 His story: the book's raw title, and twenty years of anger at God 9:50 Grieving a future that never got to happen 11:50 Twenty three years later, and a divorce he never wanted 13:37 When "just trust God" is not enough 19:20 Depression, anxiety, and why medication is not a lack of faith 24:39 An unexpected kind of healing 28:13 What he wants a struggling man to hear 29:42 Where to find Matthew and the book Drop DRIVEWAY in the comments to let us know you were here today. If you are standing right where Matthew was, wondering if there is anything left, my book More Than a Picture: Restored & Free was written for exactly that. It is about what restoration actually looks like once the falling apart is over. Matthew Jenkins Book: Beat Up By God: From Pain to Redemption, search it on Amazon or find the link on his site Website: https://www.beatupbygod.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdjenkins Celebrate Recovery: crlocator.com Crisis line: call or text 988 Search The Intentional Guy Podcast to find us wherever you listen. And until next time, just keep being intentional. Bonus

Click here to receive today's free gift on the Radio Page Pain and Providence – Pain and chronic illness can erode your joy like acid and can lead you to question God and his power. Join Joni in taking a close look at what the Bible says about pain and the sovereign providence of God. Use the coupon code: RADIOGIFT for free shipping! *Limit one copy per person* --------Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org. Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

What does it actually mean to persist in prayer? In episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their study of Luke 11's "Parable of the Night Friend" — and the answer is far richer than most Christians expect. Rather than teaching a technique for wearing down a reluctant God, Jesus presents a contrasting image: a grudging friend who finally relents out of pure annoyance, set against a Father who overflows with delight to give His people the very best gift imaginable. Through careful exegetical attention to the parable's logic, covenantal structure, and Trinitarian movement, Tony and Jesse show that the ultimate object of persevering prayer is nothing less than the Holy Spirit Himself — the supreme covenant gift of the new covenant age, promised by the Father to the Son, and freely given to all who ask. Key Takeaways The parable operates by contrast, not direct comparison. The annoyed friend is not a picture of God — he is a foil. Everything about God's character is the opposite of this reluctant neighbor, and reading the parable correctly depends on recognizing this reversal. Persistence in prayer is appropriate, not impudent. The word translated "persistence" in verse 8 carries a sense of shameless, boundary-crossing boldness. But unlike the midnight knocker whose asking had become socially inappropriate, our asking of God never crosses a line. There is no point at which we have asked too much. The shift from "friend" to "father" is a deliberate relational and moral intensification. Jesus moves the argument from voluntary friendship (revocable, lateral) to fatherhood (covenantally obligated, vertical), and then from sinful human fathers to the holy divine Father — two axes that together magnify the certainty and character of God's giving. Total depravity and common grace are both present in verse 13. Jesus calls even his disciples "evil," grounding the argument in the doctrine of total depravity, while simultaneously appealing to the nearly universal parental instinct to give good things to children as evidence of common grace operative even in fallen humanity. The ultimate gift is the Holy Spirit, not general blessings. Luke's version of this teaching specifies what Matthew's leaves general: the supreme "good thing" the Father gives is the Holy Spirit Himself. This is not a second-blessing theology, but a call to pray explicitly and persistently for the subjective experience and fresh working of the Spirit already indwelling believers. God's giving is grounded in the Covenant of Redemption. The Father's obligation to give the Spirit to believers is not merely an expression of His general goodness — it flows first from His pretemporal covenant commitment to the Son, to grant Him a people marked, redeemed, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is on full display in Christ's earthly ministry. The Father sending the Holy Spirit is unavoidably Trinitarian language — and Jesus' disciples received it without confusion. The Old Testament had already furnished them with this framework, and the New Testament simply brings it into full light. Key Concepts The Parable Operates by Contrast, Not Direct Comparison One of the most common misreadings of Luke 11 is to identify the sleeping friend with God — as though Jesus is saying, "If you pester God long enough, He will eventually give in." Tony points out that this reading produces a deeply distorted picture of God: an annoyed deity who only answers prayer when sufficiently harassed. The actual logic of the parable is a contrast. The friend is reluctant where God is eager. The friend gives grudgingly where God gives joyfully. The friend is moved by annoyance where God is moved by covenant love. Jesus is not saying, "God is like this friend." He is saying, "Even this friend eventually gave what was needed — how infinitely more will your Father, who is nothing like this friend, give you everything you need?" The parable's force depends entirely on the distance between its human character and the divine reality it points toward. The Ultimate Gift Is the Holy Spirit Himself A comparison of Matthew 7 and Luke 11 reveals something significant. Where Matthew records Jesus promising "good things" to those who ask, Luke specifies: the Holy Spirit. This is not a contradiction — it is Luke's Spirit-guided theological clarification, shaped by his characteristic pneumatological emphasis and his post-Pentecost vantage point. The teaching closes where it must: not with general providential blessings, but with God's own personal presence and power. Tony is careful to distinguish this from two-stage salvation theology. The call to ask for the Holy Spirit is a call for what might be described as the subjective experience of the Spirit — fresh assurance, sanctifying power, gifts for ministry — not a second indwelling. The Christian who already possesses the Spirit objectively is nonetheless invited, even commanded, to ask persistently for His living and active presence. That invitation is itself grounded in covenant promise. God's Giving Is Grounded in the Covenant of Redemption Perhaps the most theologically profound moment in the episode comes when Tony traces God's obligation to give the Spirit beyond the Covenant of Grace and back to the Covenant of Redemption — the pretemporal, intra-Trinitarian covenant in which the Father promised the Son a redeemed people whose redemption would be applied by the Holy Spirit. This means that when believers ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, they are not merely appealing to His general benevolence. They are appealing to a promise the Father made to the Son before the foundation of the world — a promise sealed in the Son's obedient life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection. God's faithfulness in answering prayer for the Spirit is, at its deepest level, an expression of His covenant faithfulness to Christ. That is the ground of Christian boldness in prayer, and it is the ground that never shifts. Memorable Quote God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him... That covenantal obligation first and foremost is not primarily his covenant with us. It is his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. - Tony Arsenal We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. - Tony Arsenal It doesn't teach a doctrine of prayer as a technique, somehow like wearing down a reluctant God, but a doctrine of prayer as a filial confidence grounded in the Father's revealed character, exercised through this persevering, believing, asking. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:01:03] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  [00:01:12] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast With Ears to Hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:16] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. So I'm excited for this little conversation because I tried to tee all, all of this up for the culmination of this amazing parable, which I, I don't know if you coined it or if it comes from somewhere else or if it's what the Patristics called it- [00:01:32] the parable of the night friends, but I really loved that. Yeah. It sounds like an amazing movie as well, so maybe there's a drama that can unfold. I mean, this is, this is cinematic. And if you're wondering what we're even talking about, you know it. It's the parable in Luke 11, the one where Jesus tells a story about a guy pounding on his neighbor's door at midnight begging for bread because apparently first-century hospitality customs did not include 24/7 7-Eleven. [00:01:58] And so a lot of [00:02:00] us get this one wrong. We hear in this parable words like ask, seek, and knock, and we turn it into some kind of prayer vending machine where if we do the right things or we ask long or hard enough that God will give us exactly what we want. And it turns out the whole parable is about God giving us what we need, the best blessing, the best gift, the thing that is the best in all the world, which is His spirit, and that's what we're gonna talk about on this episode. [00:02:25] So it's all- Yeah ... been set up, loved ones. Now it's time for the good stuff. Tony's here. We're going after it hard. How about that?  [00:02:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, it should be good.  [00:02:34] Jesse Schwamb: It's gonna be, it's gonna be better than good, Tony. It's gonna be, like, amazing. I- I was hoping, like, the, the energy. I, I was just anticipating you were just gonna come in hard with me on that. [00:02:45] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I, I, I wish I had the energy. I mean, we'll, we'll talk about this maybe a little bit in denials. It's just been a, it's been a long day.  [00:02:53] Jesse Schwamb: Well, speaking of-  [00:02:54] Tony Arsenal: But it's good. It's good ... speaking- I'm excited.  [00:02:57] Jesse Schwamb: I, I felt like you were just like that was, [00:03:00] like, your pretty excitement for me and you were like, "All right. [00:03:02] Move us along." Yeah. "Enough of this stuff." I get it. No, no. I, I'm totally down with that.  [00:03:06] Tony Arsenal: It's good.  [00:03:06] Jesse Schwamb: Honestly, that's as good a set of a segue as any. It is time before we get to the, the full excitement, we'll war- we'll both warm up a bit.  [00:03:14] Affirmations And Denials Segment [00:03:14] Jesse Schwamb: Let's take us to that segment where we take a page from the Reformed tradition of writing confessions, except these are ones that nobody asked for. [00:03:21] It's that time where we affirm with something that we really like or we deny against something that we don't like so much. So I can only wonder now, given that little preamble, that just short little nugget that you dropped there, I am really curious, more than ever, are you denying against something or are you actually affirming with something else? [00:03:40] Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna cheat a little bit and go back, go old school and do an affirmation and a denial.  [00:03:44] Tony Denies Sleep And Twitter Bait [00:03:44] Tony Arsenal: So- Oh, okay ... I guess my denial is just sleep deprivation. It's, it's just been, for whatever reason, it's been a couple nights in a row of, of sort of disruptive sleep with the kids and the dog. And this time of year in New Hampshire, the, the nights start to get a little bit chilly, which is, is great. [00:04:01] Um, but you start to get rodents and other animals moving around and- When you live in the, the kind of house that I do, there's a large crawl space underneath, so even if, even if the animals aren't making their way into the house itself, they move around under the, the house. And so when you have a terrier that has been bred over many generations to hunt those kinds of animals, uh, when they start hearing them moving around under the floors, they don't, they don't stay quiet about it. [00:04:27] So denying sleep deprivation. We've talked a lot about how important sleep is, and how it's a blessing from God, and it's a way to show that we're not in charge, and we're not necessary, that God's, you know, God's plan and God's world keeps spinning even when our brains are shut off for the night. So I'm denying sleep deprivation. [00:04:45] My affirmation, uh, actually it's a denial too. It's two denials. It's a double denial. Uh, my denial, I guess what I'm gonna call it is I'm, I'm denying taking the bait. So there's, there's been a, a rather high-profile, uh, [00:05:00]Christian figure that I honestly was not super familiar with. I don't need to get into the specifics, but I was not super familiar with, and when I was silly enough to ask the question online as to like why is everybody even paying attention to this person who has no theology training and is clearly not articulating things in a reasonable way? [00:05:17] The answer was like, "Well, he has 4.5 million followers." I was like, "Oh. O- okay." Uh, where I'm denying taking the bait is that this is a person who's been railing against Reformed theology, Calvinism, uh, for a, like a week now probably, week and a half. Uh, total straw man arguments, just totally misrepresenting things, not a good faith engagement effort, not really trying to understand the position they're critiquing. [00:05:41] Just sort of like painting really broad, inaccurate strokes and then s- sort of congratulating himself when he knocks down that straw man. And where I'm denying taking the bait is that in the same breath as me saying like, "Why are we bothering to engage this person?" Uh, I engaged the person. And, uh, you know, like it [00:06:00] just turns into what you, what it turns into. [00:06:02] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:06:02] Tony Arsenal: It turns into both parties kind of screaming into the void and just feeling like the other person's not listening, and I don't have time for that. So, uh, I've, I've come up with a new policy for myself on Twitter. If someone is clearly not a good faith actor, uh, then I'm just gonna block them, and then I don't have to worry about it anymore. [00:06:18] Good  [00:06:18] Jesse Schwamb: for you.  [00:06:18] Tony Arsenal: Um, so there's plenty of people who wanna have good conversations, who are interested in dialogue, critical or otherwise, uh- [00:06:41] -fashion. Um, first of all, we should always be asking like, "Am I even the person that should be responding?" But i- if you, in God's providence and in wisdom and Christian prudence decide that you are, uh, then, you know, like is this a person worth responding to? Is Twitter the place to respond or, or is it a longer [00:07:00] format or something like that the best, um, best option? [00:07:03] So I'm denying taking the bait. It's like that, uh, like that GIF, like that's bait, and then I total- I totally took it. I totally took it, wasted a bunch of my time. Uh, and I used to think like, "Well, there's people watching, and they're reading what I'm..." But like nobody's reading what I'm saying. Nope, nobody  [00:07:17] Jesse Schwamb: cares. [00:07:17] Tony Arsenal: Nobody cares. Yeah. It's just a bunch of voices online. So there's ways to have influence and, and there are certainly people that have influence through Twitter, and I've had some really good conversations, and I think there is some value at times to engaging in that, uh, that media. But, uh, this was not one of them, so I'm denying taking the bait. [00:07:35] Jesse Schwamb: Would you look at us? I mean, would you look at us? How, how far God has brought us. Yes. I, I just wanna commend you for bringing that up and just kinda laying that all out in transparency. I, bully for you. I think that's right on. There's a... Everybody listen to that again, 'cause there was a lot of good stuff in that short little denial. [00:07:52] Very good.  [00:07:54] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. What about you, Jesse? What do you got for us tonight?  [00:07:57] Jesse Schwamb: I'm in that place now where, remember you and I [00:08:00] said we should create a list of our affirmations, Niles? I think you have been more faithful in that, uh, honestly, than I have. I, I have- ... coveted your, your faithfulness in doing that. So then I did it, and now I can't remember. [00:08:10] I'm not crossing them off, so now I can't remember if I've actually- ... given this. So everybody please have mercy on me if I've already said this before. I don't think I have, because, you know, I'm just burying a lead that doesn't need to be buried.  [00:08:23] Jesse Affirms Invictus EP [00:08:23] Jesse Schwamb: But I've got a affirmation, and it's more music, and it'll hur- hit a certain group I'm sure. [00:08:29] But I'm affirming with a band called Invictus. They have a new EP that's out this year. It's called Sealed and Sent, and I'll just give you... I, I don't, I'm not trying to make light of this, but, like, I'm not gonna tell you what the music... I mean, I have a pedigree I'm sure in history here. But let me just give you, there's six tracks. [00:08:46] I'm just gonna give you the names of the tracks. Maybe you might guess the style of music from these tracks. Um, it starts with Crush the Snake, then goes on to Heaven's Weapon, Hymn for the Fallen, which is acoustic, Retribution, Drive Them Out, and I Won't [00:09:00] Break. This is a great album. It is, I'm gonna go with their definition of their own sound. [00:09:04] They're a cinematic Christian metal project blending crushing riffs, melodic metalcore, and scripture-inspired themes of spiritual warfare, redemption, perseverance, and victory through Christ. Here's the thing. All of that's true, and you might say, as I did when I first came across them, "Uh, sounds a little cheesy. [00:09:22] Sounds a little kitsch." Turns out it's just awesome. And sometimes, like, you need this kind of music that's so spiritually rich in victory with Christ, that is so expressive of... 'Cause there is, as you heard, like a tint there toward the supernatural realm, toward the battles that are in that realm. But I, sometimes you need that. [00:09:43] This is fantastic. The only word of warning I have is that, so if you're not into that style, and there is, like, beautiful, it's very melodic. There's a lot of beautiful melodies in this. A lot of, like, the voices are really truly fantastic. So it's worth listening to for just for that But my warning is, um, [00:10:00] kind of strange. [00:10:01] This track three, it's acoustic, it's Hymn for the Fallen, is, uh, exactly what it is. It's almost like an anthem for those, uh, condemned to hell, and it is troublingly haunting. Uh, I think it's, like, exactly theologically precise, and it's beautiful in its own right. It's a strange song to listen to because it is beautiful in its expression. [00:10:22] The music is phenomenal, and again, the voice work from this, this single artist is incredible. His range is fantastic. I think it'll leave you at parts just almost breathless. And yet what they're singing about is not quite a celebration, but it is like a song of mourning. And every, uh, time I listen to it, and I wanna listen to it, and yet when you're done with it, you do feel this different sense and urgency for those around you. [00:10:46] So that's my only warning is it's a really complex little EP, but it's strong, and it's beautiful, and it's glorious, and it's a little bit haunting, and it's certainly convicting and challenging. So it turns out, I guess I do like... I [00:11:00]just love the word cinematic. Like, I'm not sure entirely all that it entails, but I think it's probably an, an accurate description. [00:11:07] So if you're looking for some new music or some different music, I highly recommend Invictus because I think you'll be blessed by them  [00:11:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. My, um, my musical, uh, I don't know, repertoire consists mostly of, like, kids worship bop music. Uh, so, uh, maybe I'll, maybe I'll put that on the next time I'm in the car by myself just to listen to some sort of, like- [00:11:34] I don't know, like grown-up music. 'Cause, 'cause I don't listen to a lot of grown-up music as it is now. I, if, if I'm lucky, I get a couple, uh, couple minutes on the bus or something like that to listen to some real, real adult music. But yeah, I'll, I'll have to check it out, and there's always a chance that this will be the screaming music or the heavy music that I like. [00:11:55] There's always a chance.  [00:11:57] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's more, it's more heavy than maybe screaming. There is a [00:12:00] little bit of that good rasp, but it brings me back to, you and I are of a certain age. I'm, I'm older than you, but I think back to, like, maybe that late '90s, early 2000s, kinda like Creed style. Mm. Like, almost like that, but a little bit deeper and richer and, and a little bit harder. [00:12:16] But it's, it's not, I think, so dissonant that the average ear wouldn't find great value in it. And again, that- Yeah ... third track, which is acoustic, is very beautiful in its own right. It's just a very strange song. Usually you don't hear a song like that, and it really caught me by surprise. And the more I listen to it, the more it does create some kind of mourning within you, and I've thought about it quite a bit, even as I interact with people around me, thinking about the essential emergency of what it means that souls are, are in play here, so to speak. [00:12:44] That, of course, they're all under the providence of God, but He used us as a means in which to preach that gospel message, and we ought to be about that gospel message. And I suppose- Yeah ... in point, that started the podcast as we talked about the gospel and became excited every time we spoke about the [00:13:00] gospel, and then it's, it flowed into this whole series we're doing on the parables. [00:13:04] Back To Luke 11 Reading [00:13:04] Jesse Schwamb: And now, of course, we find it again in Luke chapter 11 here And I was excited to speak with you because I tried to set up for everybody, ourselves included, just like all of the little prolegomena, all the, all the kinda like little fine, fun details of like the circumstance and the interaction that's happening in this parable. [00:13:23] But really the punchline comes in this, I would say, unexpected twist that one, we have this friend going to another, and the friend is reluctant when he really shouldn't be, and there's this incredible juxtaposition of, well, how much more so is God going to be less reluctant because He's our Father, and He delights to give us that which is good, the best of gifts. [00:13:43] And this sometimes gets turned around in that we ought to just really continually annoy God to the extent that He just gives us the very thing, and that somehow this is explained to us that we have to have enough perseverance, hope against hope, to continue to pray against all odds. And instead what we find [00:14:00] buried in this parable is something far better than that. [00:14:02] Actually, the gift that God gives us is something that we really could not conceive of apart from the gospel itself. So I'm gonna take us back- Yeah ... into Luke chapter 11. I'm gonna read the whole passage or the parable that we were just talking about, started it last week. But we're really gonna pick it up in this, so everybody can be listening, at this turning point where Jesus begins to speak about the role of the Father and what He desires to give us. [00:14:27] So this is Luke chapter 11, beginning verse one. "And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.' And He said to them, 'When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. [00:14:45] Give us each our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."' Then He said to them, 'Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me [00:15:00] three loaves for a friend has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.' [00:15:05] And from the inside he answers, 'Do not bother me. The door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot rise up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not rise up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as we needs. [00:15:23] So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who receives asks, and he who, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks will be opened. But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [00:15:45] If then you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?'"  [00:15:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:15:59] Tony Unpacks The Parable Logic [00:15:59] Tony Arsenal: This is, um, one of those passages that I think... I think you're exactly right. We, we sort of fall into a very specific way of thinking because for some good reasons, right? [00:16:13] Like, this is a parable about prayer. It's couched, y- you know, it's, it's sort of sandwiched in different parts tea- teaching about prayer. And so I think we, we instinctively, kinda like we saw with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of instinctively assume who certain characters in the, in the analogy here are, right? [00:16:34] Sure. Just like in the, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of assume that, like, the neighbor that is being talked about is the guy who got beat up and left for dead, but in, in the s- the punchline, we find out it's actually the Samaritan. In this case, I think we assume the person who is being, um, who is being e- entreated upon must represent God, and the person who is doing the entreating, uh, is, you know, is us.[00:17:00] [00:17:00] And I'm not sure that the parable, a- and again, like, what even is a parable? Some people would say, "Well, this isn't a parable," but w- we're really just talking about kind of like the figures of speech ministry of Christ, the figures of the sayings of Jesus that sort of circulate around these analogies. Um, w- what even is a parable? [00:17:19] And in this case, like- We need to be careful not to just make those assumptions without-  [00:17:25] Jesse Schwamb: Right ...  [00:17:26] Tony Arsenal: justifying them in the text because it'll lead us to the wrong conclusion. Like, like you've said, like if we assume that the person in the text, in the, the, the parable here who is being entreated upon represents God the Father, well, what we've done now is we've made God sort of like this annoying or this annoyed figure who doesn't really wanna answer our prayers, but because we harass him so much, because we're so persistent. [00:17:51] Another translation of that word is impudence, right? It's a word that has to do with, like, almost like a shameless begging. Like, [00:18:00] it's, it's someone who is asking something that goes beyond the boundaries of appropriate.  [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:05] Tony Arsenal: Right? It's, it's impudence, it's persistence, but it's not just persistence in that, like, it's not just stick-to-it-iveness. [00:18:12] It's like persistence to the point of being, uh, inappropriate is really what this word is getting at. Well, now what we've done is we've made it so we have to inappropriately pursue God for prayer. Right. So I'm, I'm glad you set it up this way to sort of say, like, we need to think about this parable. Yes, there's something here about prayer, for sure. [00:18:29] There's more here about the fact that God desires to give us good gifts, but we really need to understand how it is that this teaching is functioning in almost like a, a, almost like a contrasting example kind of way compared to, like, a direct example. It, it's, it's not, it's not exactly an argument to the lesser, from the lesser to the greater. [00:18:51] I mean, it kind of is.  [00:18:52] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:52] Tony Arsenal: But it's, it's almost like a reverse argument from the lesser to the greater. Like, there's this lesser that's so much lesser that he's actually [00:19:00] sort of- Yes ... like an annoying, like not a super admirable, noble figure. Then how much more noble is God? It's kind of the, the sort of the force of this parable, the force of this teaching. [00:19:09] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. I like how you said that. It was... You crystallized something I've been thinking about, which was, it's almost like in this text, think of, like, these two different shores. On one shore is this function, the action, and the worship of, uh, through prayer. On the other shore is this g- great supreme gift of the Holy Spirit, and there's something about a bridge that's being built between these two things, and it starts with this really interesting analogy. [00:19:34] But then there's, like, this turning point from friend to father, and for me, what, like I mentioned last week, I'm seeing, I'm picking up, maybe too much so, all of this interesting covenantal shadows and language here. And so, like, in this shifting, specifically from this analogy to friend to fa- from friend to father, there's almost in my mind, like, an intensifying of the relational bond. [00:19:56] I mean, friendship being voluntary and revocable, fatherhood, [00:20:00] especially in ancient thought, bound by nature, and then that again, covenant obligation. It does strengthen this interesting logic that's unfolding for us. But it's as if the bridge that's being built here by Jesus is taking and uniting or bringing together this idea of good gifts of the Father, and the greatest gift being the Holy Spirit, and prayer and how that accomplishes or receives or invokes those gifts, and the bridge being the right way in which to think about prayer and the right mode in which to consider prayer so as to ask for the things in the name of Jesus according to God's will, that is the greatest of all gifts, which is the Holy Spirit. [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:36] Hospitality Context And Midnight Bread [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: And I, I think it's interesting too because this teaching, this parable opens with y- you know, kind of a s- sort of standard format that Christ use, uses in some of these circumstances, where He's talking to an audience who may or may not be hostile. In some instances it's hostile. In this instance it was a friendly, a friendly audience. [00:20:57] It was His disciples. Um, He says, "Which of [00:21:00] you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves. For a friend of mine- Right ... has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.'" This is parallel similar language to, like, which of you having a sheep who falls into a- [00:21:22] not like everybody has experienced it, right? I think I, I've never had, like, livestock, but, like, I know my dog has gotten into stuff. Like, everybody who's had a pet is like, "Yeah, my animal has done something stupid at some point." Like, ate something stupid, got stuck in something, hurt itself. So, like, the, the, the way that this is set up is [00:21:53] Tony Arsenal: In a way where it's like the scenario is sort of insane and nobody would [00:22:00] be in that situation. Um, and then there are times where he says, "Which of you having a friend, which of you having a sheep who falls into a ditch?" [00:22:09] Um, and, and the assumption is on some level either the, it, it's such a common scenario that of course everyone would have understood it, right? Which of you... It's like, it's like a woman losing a coin who sweeps the house to look for the coin. Everybody who has a, a, a valuable piece of money that they lose is gonna spend time looking for it. [00:22:29] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:22:29] Tony Arsenal: This one I think is more like that second one, which feels weird to us. Again, like we're, like you kind of alluded to and kind of joking, but I think is, is a, is a per- serious point, we can just go to the store. Like I could go to a 24-hour supermarket and buy resources if a guest shows up unexpectedly. [00:22:46] It's not like that in the ancient world. So this statement of like, which of you Basically like which of you who has unexpected company show up would not go to your friend or neighbor and ask for something to serve them? And especially in the sort of [00:23:00] hospitality-driven culture that the 1st century was, it would've been deeply, deeply troubling for a guest, especially a, a guest who's coming on a l- from a long journey who's showing up at midnight. [00:23:10] That feels like in our culture we'd be like, "Yeah, it's understandable that I don't have anything on hand." It would be deeply troubling for someone in that scenario to not be able to provide hospitality. So I think that's the first hurdle we have to get over with this one is the scenario feels, at least to me, feels a little bit insane, but I actually think the assumption baked into the teaching is that this is an understandable, relatable situation with an obvious answer. [00:23:36] Of course, all of us would go beg a friend for a few loaves of bread to serve our guest who shows up unexpectedly.  [00:23:43] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. There is like a foil in all of this. Again, it's not like Jesus is not commending like wear God down with nagging as a technique, but there is a lot at stake here in this scenario that's been set forward because there's, there's honor, there's covenantal honor like I think I [00:24:00] mentioned p- last time. [00:24:00] Again, this is where I'm seeing that there is something to be said for like the petitioner is a little bit shameless here. That is, like he's bold. It's, it's socially inappropriate maybe, the persistence in the knocking, but that's what secures the loaves. And so on this view, verse 8 does teach like persevering bold prayer. [00:24:18] I think then what we're being lead to, try, led to try to understand is well, what kind of bold prayer here? Is it just like any kind of prayer, or is there something specific that Christ himself is directing these people to ask for in prayer? And to me, it, to like, you know, maybe preempt a little bit, it seems like, of course, like he's saying, "Ask for God, of God the only thing that God can give you. [00:24:39] Ask boldly for that thing. Ask shamelessly, unapologetically for that thing," because we're gonna be led again to this kind of reprisal of roles here and see that he's gonna speak about himself again as, as Father, as being this really good father over and against this really reluctant friend who only gets up really because he has been annoyed, and that's certainly the opposite of [00:25:00] God's stance towards us. [00:25:01] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:25:02] Persistence Without Impudence [00:25:02] Tony Arsenal: And you know, there is, um, you know, like we mentioned, there's this element of- The an- sort of annoyed friend, right? And, and we don't wanna be too quick to compare God directly to the annoyed friend, right? It is this foil. It's kind of like, it's almost like God is not, is like this in some ways, but not like this- Yes [00:25:23] in the most important ways. I actually think the asking itself falls into that category, right? In, in the context of the parable, the asking, m- maybe not the asking, but the persistence, the continuing to pound on the door when the answer no has already been delivered. That is, in the context of this teaching, is, is seen as inappropriate, right? [00:25:45] It's, it's impudent. It's disrespectful. It's, it's an- Right ... unrelenting persistence beyond the bounds of propriety. Not only is God not like the annoying friend, or the annoyed friend, or the annoying friend, I guess, not only is God [00:26:00] not annoyed, uh, so there's this sort of like argument to the, from the lesser to the greater opposite or the greater contrary But our asking itself and our persistence is not impudent. [00:26:13] And I think that's a really key thing here, and that's why it goes directly into the next verse. "Ask and you will g- give it given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, it will be opened to you." He's not saying because you're so persistent, because you continue to wear God down, it's gonna be given to you. [00:26:29] It's almost like he's saying, like, look, in this context of this parable, not only is the friend, not only did the friend say no, and the, the seeker is seeking inappropriately, and the friend finally, not out of the goodness of his heart, not out of his loyalty to his friend, not out of his desire to serve a stranger, not out of any of those noble things, just because he's annoyed, he finally gives in. [00:26:51] Well, not only is that not what God is like, but your prayers are not like the persistent, annoying friend who won't give up when the answer is no. Right. [00:27:00] Your, your prayers are appropriate insofar as you persist. As you continue to persist, they are appropriate. And, you know, we could get into all of the Greek details about the, the participles and all of this stuff about it's, it's not just ask at one point. [00:27:15] It's, it's continue asking, it'll be given to you. Yes. Continue knocking, it'll be given to you. Like, we can, we can go into all that, and I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit. But the reality is the sort of like durable nature of prayer, the like ongoing, persistent nature of prayer here is not established by those participles. [00:27:32] It's established by the comparison to this inappropriate asking, this inappropriate persistence in the parable, but it's not inappropriate. And I think that's, again, like that's another sort of argument from the lesser to the greater contrary. I don't know if that's actually a term or if I invented that, but that seems like what's going on here. [00:27:49] There's this sort of like minimum situation, and then you flip it over a little bit and, and make it bigger, and that's what we're getting at here. It's, it's sort of a strange technique that, [00:28:00] um, again, like is it present in oth- a lot of other teaching? There's obviously like the parable of the widow and the unjust judge that's basically the same situation. [00:28:08] Right. And we're- I'm sure we'll get to that, but like it's the same basic situation. It's, it's this idea that like Christ is presenting this scenario that has this one touch point, and everything else is like flipped over. It's like everything else is sort of opposite day.  [00:28:24] Jesse Schwamb: And that is a little bit different than the stuff that we've covered so far, which is what makes this a little bit exceptional. [00:28:29] There are ones that mirror it, but this technique-  [00:28:31] Tony Arsenal: Right ...  [00:28:31] Jesse Schwamb: is something that we haven't really come across yet, of course, in our conversations.  [00:28:35] Covenantal Frame For Ask Seek Knock [00:28:35] Jesse Schwamb: And I would say, like, good Biblical hermeneutics, like you said, resolves all of that, what you just said, not by, like, weakening the promise, but by locating it within its covenantal frame again. [00:28:46] Yeah. This promise is spoken to disciples who have just been taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, give us, forgive us, lead us not." That is, all of this prayer needs to be conformed to God's revealed will and kingdom priorities. And so what's hard is I [00:29:00] hear this spoken about a lot, this parable, but it always gets cut, like, from the teaching that just preceded it. [00:29:06] Right.  [00:29:06] Why This Contrast [00:29:06] Jesse Schwamb: Like, a- as if, again, they're coming to Jesus saying, "John was really good at providing instruction to his disciples on how to pray, and you being the Son of God, like the ultimate teacher, teach us then. How do we see you pray? We know that you're a man of prayer. We know that you're Son of God. Teach us, instruct us in this way." [00:29:22] W- w- let's get it, as it were, the... These guys are like, "Boys, let's get it from the horse's mouth." And so it's interesting that Jesus gives the instruction, he gives the prayer, he gives some language and a framework, and then he's like, follows it immediately with this teaching. And this teaching, though, like you said, doesn't draw, like, often, like it's orthogonal. [00:29:39] There's no, like, parallel or linear lines here- Right ... so to speak. It's, it's all about creating this weird contrast. And you might ask, "Well, why do it this way?" And so it does beg the question of does that distinction, that almost like cognitive dissonance between these characters, and then again, like the comparison to God, does that draw out in different ways this character of God so that we might actually [00:30:00] see it more clearly in that juxtaposition? [00:30:02] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:30:03] Midnight Friend Parable [00:30:03] Tony Arsenal: And I think, y- you know, one of the other comparisons that I think's going on here, and, and again, I think this is basically the same teaching as the, the pa- the widow and the unjust judge. Like, she wears him down with her petitioning, and he finally gives her justice. Like, I think a big part of this, the idea here is when we look at this parable, everything in the parable is- uh, understandable and relatable, right? [00:30:28] To some extent. Um, again, we i- in our 21st century modern context, at least in the West here, we don't have a situation where we can't basically just drive to the store and get something, even, even in the middle of the night. I, I don't know m- many people personally who don't have access to some sort of 24-hour supermarket or convenience store, something where they could go and get something to present to a guest who shows up unexpected in the middle of the night. [00:30:57] Um, and even the idea of, like, someone showing up [00:31:00] unexpected in the middle of the night is kind of like, even then, like, what we think of as unexpected is, like, the person calls us and they're like, "Hey, I'm 35 minutes away. I'm gonna be there. Do you have a bed I can use?" What we're talking about here in the 1st century is literally like, I'm asleep, all of a sudden there's a pounding on my door, and my friend has come from a long journey. [00:31:18] There's no advance notice, there's no messenger that came. This is literally just someone who appears out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and so he has to go get something. That is actually a somewhat relatable situation, even to us What I think is interesting, what I, what I really love about these, this parable and the other one I referenced, is when you think about the way that the, the friend, the annoyed friend, the friend who's sleeping and gets woken up, the way he responds is still to provide the need. [00:31:49] But then look at how we are... Look at the language around how God gives us good gifts, right? Right.  [00:31:56] Ask Seek Knock [00:31:56] Tony Arsenal: He's not giving us... It, it's almost like the teaching is God gives us good gifts. We should ask, we should persevere in prayer. If you continue asking, it will be given to you. If you continue knocking, it, it will be opened to you. [00:32:07] If you continue seeking, you will find. Like, that's the, that's the positive teaching of this. But the contrast is not just, yeah, if you continue to be persistent enough, you're gonna get what you ask for. It's, look, God is going to give you what you need and what you ask for. He's going to give that to you joyfully and out of his own abundance and out of his own desire to bless you with good gifts. [00:32:30] Not like this worldly dude who just does it 'cause he's annoyed.  [00:32:34] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly.  [00:32:34] Tony Arsenal: So it's not just the argument of like, here's a picture of somebody who's persisting in prayer and gets what they want, and like, yeah, we have some language about the guy being annoyed and about inappropriate asking. God's not quite like that. [00:32:47] God Not Annoyed [00:32:47] Tony Arsenal: It's really designed to paint this picture of marveling at the goodness and, and graciousness of, of God in that not only does he grant us what we need, but he does so [00:33:00] joyfully. We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. [00:33:12] That's the real point of this, is not to just compare God to this annoyed friend who finally gives in, but to show us, like, this is what the world looks like. When you ask enough, you might get what you want, but you're going to annoy someone. That's what worldly pr- like, persistence in lateral prayer, if we wanna call it that, just to sort of keep the analogy going, right? [00:33:33] Lateral prayer, lateral petitioning, or lateral whatever. Like, lateral interceding, all of those things, however we wanna phrase it. That is real, and yes, if you do it long enough, you're probably gonna get what you want. You might burn a bridge in the process. You can never burn the bridge to God by being so annoying, because he's saying continue to ask, continue to seek- Right [00:33:55] continue to knock, and it will be given to you. And not only will it be given to you, but it will [00:34:00] be given to you out of the joy and goodness of my heart. That is really the big comparison that's going on here  [00:34:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's something that we just get to see about God's character here. It's grounds this perseverance not in doubt about God's willingness, but in confidence about it. [00:34:15] And that's what's so interesting here is it comes about by seeing this distinction. It is like a great mockery of saying like you're saying this friend who w- should've been a good friend and had all the reason to be reluctant, even though you pers- persevered with him, he relented and gave you that very thing. [00:34:32] Guess who will be the exact opposite of that? Yeah. Is God himself who lavishes love upon you. And so therefore because of that, you come before him and see he's nothing like this friend. And even a friend will do this in the worst of all circumstances. How much more so will God, where he's given you every spiritual blessing in Christ? [00:34:50] From Friend To Father [00:34:50] Jesse Schwamb: And that's, that's where he leads us, and that's why I think then it transitions to this different set of characters or comparisons by speaking about fathers. So in verse [00:35:00] 11, where we find written, "What father among you, if he has sons, asks for a fish will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" [00:35:09] And, and I've read that there's some commentators who will draw from these pairs being chosen for maybe, like, their potential visual tactile resemblance. Like, a, an eel-like fish might have resembled a snake, and generally there were, like, these whitish scorpions I, I guess that were common in Galilee that might have resembled an egg. [00:35:26] And perhaps even here there's a little bit of humor in the illustration just to show, like, just the extreme nonsensical nature of this thing. It's, it's- Yeah ... a really cruel bait and switch. It's deliberate. You know, Jesus is appealing certainly to this universally recognized parental instinct as evidence, again, like you're saying, Tony, for a still greater divine instinct which is present, and that's this love of God for us that we can't even imagine. [00:35:49] But we can comprehend by him saying, "Come, ask, seek, knock." And so, so to me, I think we've got these two axes kind of going on here which are really interesting and beautiful. We've got the reluctant friend [00:36:00] to the willing father. That's a kind of, like, I would say again, like, relational intensification. Like, we're firing it up. [00:36:05] Here, we're taking it to the next level. And then because we got... I gotta slip this in because we got a little, a little TD coming in here hot. From the second axis is from, like, the sinful human father to the holy divine Father, which I would say is, like, a moral intensification, and that's made explicit in verse 13. [00:36:24] Total Depravity Common Grace [00:36:24] Jesse Schwamb: And here's the TD. Like, lest anybody doubt this, to me, and I don't want to over-read, but that second axis is of course where Reformed theology's doctrine of total depravity becomes, like, exegetically significant here. Yeah. Because Jesus himself just calls it out in this verse, and that's part of the, the setup that he's gonna bring forward to explain just how loving God is. [00:36:44] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and it's even, um... It's not only is it total depravity, it's also common grace, right? Yes. Even evil, even evil, wicked people. And again, like, evil is a, is in this instance is sort of a relative term, right? It's, it's, um- [00:37:00] The audience is the disciples, at least primarily the disciples. So it's not like he's talking to, he's talking to unregenerate people, right? [00:37:09] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:37:09] Tony Arsenal: Um, the, the disciples by all realistic assessment, I think, uh, were regenerate w- with the exception of Judas at this point. Um, you know, you could make some arguments that maybe some of them came to faith during the course of his ministry, but, uh, for the most part we should think of the disciples not as like coming to faith and becoming regenerate after Christ is raised. [00:37:31] Like, they're, they're believers, they're followers with the exception of Judas at this point in his ministry, and he's still calling them evil. But even Even an unregenerate father, for the most part. There are exceptions. There are, are, there are those who are so wicked that even their base parental instincts are messed up, right? [00:37:51] And that's reality. It's terribly sad, but that's, that's the vast exception. Even the worst parents in the world still love their [00:38:00] kids and wanna give them good, good gifts. Like, it's just baked into the genetics of wanting to do that. Even that still is, uh, is an act of common grace. But I, I think you're right, too, and actually, as I think about it, too, like, this isn't even just one parable. [00:38:14] Right. This is actually, if we're talking about the first one as a parable, this is actually, like, its own second parable, right? That's which of you, having a friend that shows up in the middle of the night, would not go- Yep ... and then there's, "Now what father among you?" And it's, again, it's that eminently understandable, relatable scenario where either it, it's so common that everyone has dealt with it, or it's so, like, obviously practical that even if you haven't dealt with it, you, you couldn't come to any other conclusion. [00:38:42] Right. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a serpent, right? It's one of those, like, who does that? The answer is no- nobody. Right.  [00:38:53] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. Right?  [00:38:53] Tony Arsenal: Who, who asks for an egg and gives a scorpion? Nobody. So we've got these two [00:39:00]scenarios where the assumption is there's a question that has an obvious outcome, and it drives us to this understanding of the, this image of God as the supremely good giver of gifts, father, faithful, gracious provider, who provides not just a good gift, but the ultimate perfect necessary gift. [00:39:22] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: Right?  [00:39:22] How Much More Spirit [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: And that's where we come to, uh, at the end of verse 13 is how much more, right, there's that argument from... This is truly an argument from the lesser to the greater, like in the purest sense. How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And I think there's all sorts of implications that we can come out of this, right? [00:39:42] Um, there are those, uh, in the Christian world who never ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, and I'm not, um, I wanna be careful here because I'm not a two-stage salvation person. I'm not a second blessing person, right? We get the Holy Spirit as part of our [00:40:00] regeneration. Like, the Holy Spirit indwells us in regeneration and in, in, not in necessarily in regeneration, but when we are united to Christ, we're united to Christ by the, by the Spirit. [00:40:10] Right. And so there's never a point where we can be considered truly saved Christians- Those who are united to Christ, we cannot be united to Christ and not have His Spirit dwelling within us. But there is this element of the subjective experience of the Holy Spirit where we don't ask for the Holy Spirit, right? [00:40:31] Think of, like, Psalm 51, right? "Take not your Holy Spirit from me." David was not saying, uh, "I've lost the Holy Spirit." He was talking about the enjoyment of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the awareness of the gracious, loving presence of the Holy Spirit. That's what he was asking not to have taken away from him, and, and probably also there was elements of, like, anointing and office that were in there. [00:40:52] But there are lots of Christians who have the Holy Spirit in an objective sense- Right ... who don't take time [00:41:00] to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit in the subjective sense. I think that's the final sort of payout of this teaching, is that we need to continue to ask, continue to knock, and continue to seek, not for general gifts. [00:41:16] Yes, there's a general teaching about persevering in prayer for temporal blessings or spiritual protection, all of those things, all of those petitions that we have. Those are good things. It's good to be persistent in those. But the real point of this whole series of teachings here is that we need to persist in prayer to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit. [00:41:36] Like- Right ... full stop. That's the point  [00:41:40] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Wow, you just did a full stop right there. I thought there was gonna be more, but I, I was getting pumped as you were going on No, no.  [00:41:46] Tony Arsenal: It's all you. Full stop.  [00:41:49] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, yeah.  [00:41:50] Luke Versus Matthew [00:41:50] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, the comparison, of course, is not one of degree alongside, like, a single continuum where it's as though God is a better version of a human father, but it's a kind. [00:41:59] I mean, [00:42:00] God's fatherhood is the archetype of which human fatherhood is just this faint, fallen kind of analog. And so by the time you get to this payload, I like that. It's kinda like a nuclear bomb in a way. I mean, it's so theologically loaded here. Because I was just looking up Matthew's parallel passage here, and it reads, th- this is his punchline, "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" [00:42:26] So it strikes me that Luke, as we've been saying, writing to a largely Gentile audience after Pentecost, and with his kinda characteristic pneumatological emphasis, he emphasizes or specifies that the good things here are the Holy Spirit himself. And so we're gonna read this not as a contradiction between the Gospels, but as Luke's inspired Spirit-guided clarification/specification of what the good gifts ultimately are. [00:42:54] And while they're always pointing toward that even this temporal good gift from the Father is subordinate to and [00:43:00] finds, I guess it's like its telos in the supreme covenantal gift of God's own indwelling presence. That is a bomb. Like, that's incredible. Yeah. And so I like what you're saying here. I think it is a challenge for Christians to think about not just that we shouldn't, of course, go to God with the big and the small things, the concerns of all our lives, the anxieties and the cares which we cast before him. [00:43:20] This is all part and parcel of what real prayer means, what real communion with God is, and speaking with him and listening to his Word, uh, i- in our ear. At the same time, we shouldn't forsake the greater things that we ought to ask God with strong perseverance, knowing that he will give all those things to us. [00:43:38] I think, and you correct me if I'm wrong, I, I'm reading this as- All of this kind of momentum in Christ teaching about the Spirit coming and about where this passage had been placed in the whole kind of grand arc, and I, I think there's, like, all kinds of Ordo Salutis implications in here. But I love a good Ordo Salutis implication, so it's possible [00:44:00] I'm just coming in a little bit too hot. [00:44:01] But I think first it, it anchors this teaching within this broader Lucan narrative, narrative arc toward Pentecost, where the ascended, glorified Christ pours out the Spirit as the chief blessing of the new covenant. And so again, I'm reading this, I'm like, "Covenant, covenant, covenant." Like, only if you're watching this on YouTube can you actually see me do the, the point, like the g- the finger guns- [00:44:24] where really strongly emphasize that point. And so I just see so much covenant in this. I mean, how mu- how much covenant, how much covenant do you see in this, Tony?  [00:44:36] Covenant Obligations [00:44:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I, there, there is also this element, and this goes back to sort of the first parable or the first teaching in this little segment here, um- The friend is obligated in a certain sense. [00:44:48] Like- Yes ... there is, there is a, there's a sense, a real sense I think, and again, this is something I don't think we understand. If, if, um, if I show up at my neighbor's house, my n- I live in a [00:45:00] small community. My neighbor's house is like 25 feet away from me, and if I knocked on his door in the middle of the night and said, "Gus, I need a cup of sugar," he would give it to me with a smile. [00:45:11] But he's not obligated to do that. Right. He has every right, and no one would look sideways at him if he told me to pound sand and go back to bed, right? I think, um, in the 1st century, the answer from this other friend, "No, I'm already in bed," like that actually is sort of a scandalous answer in and of itself. [00:45:29] And so even within that little dynamic, there's covenant implications, right? The a- the continued asking is inappropriate, but it, the continued asking is almost only reasonably necessary because the annoyed friend already broke a social contract. Not quite a covenant- Right ... but we might call it a social contract, where there's an a- there's an assumed position in the 1st century that if someone comes to you asking for hospitality, you give it. [00:45:57] Like there's no exclu- And that's what's [00:46:00] driving this other friend to go talk to him in mid- at midnight in the first place, is I have to provide hospitality. I'm obligated to do so. So I think, yeah, there's all sorts of covenant implications here. And when we're talking about the, the earthly fathers, right? [00:46:14] There's a covenant, um, I'm, I'm careful to use the term covenant. So I'm gonna use it, but I'm not talking, maybe we'll say lowercase C covenant rather than like formal covenants. Right, right. There's a, there's a covenantal, lowercase C [00:46:28] covenantal obligation that fathers have to their children, right? I didn't make a covenant with August and Addie, but I have obligations to them in light of my station and my role related to them, right? And there's an obligation that if they ask me for something that is reasonable and is good for them, that I should give it to them, right? [00:46:46] I'm obligated to provide food, shelter, um, I would say things like education, love, um, you know, attention. Like the things that are necessary for the health and wellbeing of my children, as a father I'm obligated to give that to them. [00:47:00] [00:47:00] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:00] Tony Arsenal: Whether they ask me or not. When they ask me to, right, there are times it's funny. [00:47:05] I, I'll be the first to say, um, I maybe am a little bit on my phone more than I should be, just in general, right? There are times now Addie is old enough where she sees me on her ph- on my phone, and, and sometimes, like, it's fine. They're playing and I'm, I'm doing something on my phone. There are times where she'll come up to me and she'll say, "Daddy phone," and she'll tell me to put my phone down. [00:47:23] I'm obligated to do that. Like, there's a covenantal, lowercase C, covenantal obligation. When she asks me to play with her, if there's not a pressing reason I can't, I should play with her.  [00:47:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:33] Tony Arsenal: That is really what we have at play here, and this is, this is what I think is amazing. God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him, right? [00:47:42] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: what I'm  [00:47:43] Jesse Schwamb: saying.  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: That, and that's, that's, um, that covenantal obligation first and foremost... Man, I didn't even think we were gonna get here. Who would've thought we would've gotten to pretemporal covenant of redemption here just- Would you  [00:47:53] Jesse Schwamb: look at us ...  [00:47:54] Tony Arsenal: uh, look at us.  [00:47:55] Covenant Of Redemption [00:47:55] Tony Arsenal: Um, that covenantal obligation that the Father has to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask is not primarily his covenant with us. [00:48:03] It is, right? It's the covenant of grace, but that only is, is necessary because of his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. The Father has promised the Son to give the people of the Son the Holy Spirit when they ask. [00:48:26] That's, that's profound in a way that I think, um, really only Reformed theology can fully get at-  [00:48:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right  [00:48:34] Tony Arsenal: on ... is that there is a promise that God the Father made to God the Son to, to send the Holy Spirit to apply the redemption that the Son purchased to his people. That's really what we're getting at here. [00:48:46] I think that's really the, sort of the final outcome of this, is there's this covenantal obligation- That the Father is not just out of His own goodness, of course out of His own goodness- Right,  [00:48:57] Jesse Schwamb: right ...  [00:48:57] Tony Arsenal: but even maybe if it, maybe it's, [00:49:00] hopefully it's not blasphemous to say this, but like even more than just His own goodness is His covenant faithfulness to the promise He's made- Amen [00:49:07] first and foremost to His Son, and then to steal some language from the Westminster Larger Catechism, first and foremost to His Son, but then also to all the elect in Him who are His spiritual seed.  [00:49:17] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. That's right. That's, see that's the good stuff.  [00:49:20] Wrap Up Holy Spirit [00:49:20] Jesse Schwamb: And so what's crazy is then this beautiful wrap-up, which is brings us back to exactly where we started, but we find that we're on another level because the passage closes exactly as it began with this imperative of asking, but now the object of asking has been specified as God's own personal presence and power, not merely material provision. [00:49:41] And so it's everything you just said all wrapped up, and we can ground then like the practice of specifically and explicitly praying for the Spirit's fresh working, which is sanctification, assurance, gifts for ministry, as entirely a biblical form of prayer distinct from, though not opposed to, a prayer for providential [00:50:00] needs. [00:50:00] In other words, I think the disciples started in a place where they were saying, "Teach us to pray so that we might receive that what which we need." And it's almost as if God says, "I will do that and one better for you. Because not only will I just open your eyes to the thing that you need most, but I'm going to instruct you on how to ask for and then receive by way of these covenantal promises, by way of my own character, my faithful precis- provision, both in establishing the promise and then seeing it to fulfillment that you might have the Holy Spirit reside within you." [00:50:33] And that is mind-boggling. We've, we've talked before just what it is to even conceive that God's presence be with us, but then that God's presence it, uh, the Holy Spirit, one of the Trinity, would be residing within us is just inconceivable. Yeah. Even now with the words coming out of my mouth it just sounds wild. [00:50:51] And yet that is what we have to give credit to here is we have to take God at His word. This is the thing that He's, He said to us. His son, His Son Himself has given us this proper [00:51:00] instruction. And I think all, all the other things we talked about, what it means again to seek after gifts for ministry, to serve in our churches and congregations, to have grand assurance, which is the right and the purview and the blessing, the propriety of the Christian to, uh, want to go after sanctification, that all of this strikes me now is part of praying for, to receive the Holy Spirit, a fresh working of the Holy Spirit in that it's not just, it's both like a command and a gift and the greatest priv

In hour four, Josh Appel previews the Dolphins' season opener against the Raiders and the start of the Malik Willis era. He analyzes Willis' potential for a career turnaround in Miami and compares his path to Sam Darnold's. They also discuss the Marlins' playoff status and the unique travel logistics for the NFL's game in Australia.