Podcasts about Western Christianity

In Episode 496 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb open with a rich discussion on the theology of congregational singing — including the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, the Getty's Sing!, and why psalm-singing belongs at the heart of Christian worship. The main event, however, is the first installment of their study of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30). Tony and Jesse argue that this parable is widely misread as a lesson in personal productivity or spiritual gift deployment, when in fact its center of gravity is entirely eschatological and theological: the wicked servant's failure is not financial incompetence — it is a catastrophic misunderstanding of who the master is, and therefore, who he himself is as a servant of that master. Key Takeaways The parable is eschatological, not motivational. Situated in Matthew 25 as the second of three eschatological parables in the Olivet Discourse, the Parable of the Talents answers the disciples' question about the sign of Christ's coming — not a general lesson about using your abilities for God. "Talents" refers to an enormous monetary sum, not personal giftedness. A single talent represented roughly 20 years of a laborer's wages. Even the least-endowed servant received an immense, unearned gift — which makes the wicked servant's inaction all the more indefensible. The wicked servant's problem is theological, not financial. He doesn't bury the talent out of ignorance or fear alone — he actively mischaracterizes the master as exploitative and unjust. His failure is a failure of theology: he does not know who his master is. The commendation "Well done, good and faithful servant" is the basic reward of every believer, not a tiered prize for the most productive. The five-talent and two-talent servants receive identical commendations, suggesting the measure is proportional faithfulness, not absolute output. Faithful stewardship is active, not passive. Both faithful servants are marked by immediacy and energetic engagement. The parable does not explain how they doubled their talents because the mechanics are not the point — their disposition of active, risk-taking faithfulness is. The parable resists works-righteousness readings. Whether one is Augustine or an anonymous deathbed convert, every justified believer enters into the same joy of the master. The parable is not a theology of graduated heavenly rewards but a distinction between those who understand their master and those who do not. The talents represent the stewardship of the Gospel and the Kingdom itself. The master entrusting his servants with his property is a picture of Christ entrusting the church with the message of salvation — ownership remains with the master, the servants are stewards, not proprietors. Key Concepts The Wicked Servant's Problem Is Who He Thinks the Master Is The most common misreading of this parable locates the wicked servant's failure in laziness or timidity — he was simply too afraid to act. But Tony Arsenal argues compellingly that the servant's own words expose something far more serious. He says, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow." This is not a confession of fear; it is an accusation. The servant has constructed a theology of his master as an exploitative, unjust overseer who doesn't deserve a return. What he catastrophically misses is that the very possession of 20 years' worth of wages — an unearned, unimaginable gift — is the master sowing into him. His refusal to act is, at its root, a refusal to acknowledge the master's generosity and authority. This is the parable's most penetrating theological edge. "Well Done" Is for Every Believer, Not Just the Most Productive One of the episode's most pastorally significant observations is Tony's argument that the commendation "Well done, good and faithful servant — enter into the joy of your master" is not reserved for spiritual high-achievers. Because the five-talent and two-talent servants receive word-for-word identical commendations despite wildly different absolute returns, the logical entailment is that the one-talent servant, had he been faithful, would have received the same words. This means the commendation is not calibrated to productivity — it is the basic inheritance of every believer who enters glory. The soul-winner and the deathbed convert, Augustine and the unknown faithful, all hear the same welcome. The parable is therefore not teaching a graduated hierarchy of heavenly reward, but a binary distinction: those who know their master and act accordingly, and those who do not. The Parable Cannot Be Detached from Its Eschatological Context Jesse Schwamb is careful to anchor the parable in its literary and theological context: this is the second of three eschatological parables in Matthew 25, all part of the Olivet Discourse, all delivered in direct response to the disciples' question about the sign of Christ's return and the end of the age. Detaching the Parable of the Talents from that frame — and reading it instead as a general productivity principle or a theology of spiritual gifts — drains it of what Jesse calls its "gravity." The master going away and returning after a long time is a direct image of the ascended Christ and his parousia. The servants' task during the interval is not self-improvement or career stewardship — it is watchful, active discipleship in the time between the first and second comings. Everything in the parable, including the staggering sums of money, is calibrated to that eschatological frame. Memorable Quotes The real difference is that the former servants understood that their master had trusted them with a task and expected something of them, and the unfaithful, wicked, lazy servant had a total misunderstanding of who the master was — and therefore what his role as the master's servant was. That's the point of this parable. — Tony Arsenal Well done, good and faithful servant — that's not a special commendation that only the most amazing Christian servants get. That's the basic commendation that every Christian who enters into glory will receive. Whether you have been the most productive soul-winner in the world... you're going to receive the same commendation as the person who dies, and on their deathbed the last thing that they think is, 'I trust Jesus.' — Tony Arsenal God's measure of faithfulness is proportional, not absolute. The two-talent servant is not judged by the five-talent standard. He is judged by what he received. — Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:00:08] Tony Arsenal: that's not a special commendation that only the most amazing Christian servants get, right? That's the basic commendation that every Christian who enters into glory will receive. Whether you have been the most productive soul-winner in the world, whether you are the most, you know, the most sanctified Christian who's ever lived, whether you are, the most amazing person and millions of people have come to faith because of your ministry, you're going to receive the same commendation as the person who dies, and on their deathbed the last thing that they think is, I trust Jesus." Right. And they've produced no converts, no ministry, and maybe no one even knows that they were justified, because in their final moments before the lights went out, they trusted in Jesus, right? They hear the same well done, good and faithful servant when they enter into glory. Welcome to episode 496 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:19] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother.  [00:01:21] Parable Teaser [00:01:21] Jesse Schwamb: You know, the parables just keep coming for us, like we've said. And on this episode, to, just to tee it up, to whet everybody's appetites, we've got three servants, one absent master, an uncomfortable amount of money. What could go wrong? Yeah. As it turns out, quite a bit, especially if you're the kind of person who responds to divine generosity by finding the nearest shovel. So we're gonna get to all of that in this, what I call, this now sandwich of eschatological parables or teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25. So hopefully you're curious, hopefully you're stoked. But you can go put your thumb right in the scriptures there, because you're gonna meet us there very, very, very, very shortly. But first we got business. It's always the business we must do, the part of the podcast where we affirm with something or deny against something. And as always, I'm really curious what you have, and now I understand you have a list, or you're keeping a list. So- I do ... never again will there be something like that falls to the cutting room floor, brothers and sisters. Tony is always gonna have for us whatever was- ... what came to his brilliant mind as an affirmation or denial at any point, day or night.  [00:02:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. Do you, Jesse, do you ever have... I know the answer to this question is going to be yes- Yeah. That's good ... but I'm gonna ask it- All right ... mostly for rhetorical effect here. This is good podcasting.  [00:02:38] Psalm 67B Praise [00:02:38] Tony Arsenal: Do you have, do you have those situations where, like, the, the so- a song hits you, and it's just, like, the right combination of words, but also the right combination of, like, musicality?  [00:02:49] Jesse Schwamb: For sure.  [00:02:50] Tony Arsenal: Where it just, like, it just, it just feels- For sure like, right and good in every part of your being. So- All the time, yep ... I, I'm affirming, um, th- this is like the most Presbyterian thing ever. I'm affirming the, the arrangement in the Trinity, uh, psalter hymnal for Psalm 67B. Now, I'm not gonna try to sing it for you, but I wanna read the words, because obviously it's, it's a paraphrase of a psalm. So, like, that's the first thing. Like, people, like, calm down. Like, it's okay to sing paraphrases. It's okay to sing. No one is actually singing the Hebrew psalms. Right. Amen. So, like, just calm down a little bit. Amen. Uh, there is a place for us to dedicate specific focus to psalms and songs that are from the psalms, but that can be something like Better Is One Day. Like, that's a song from a psalm. Anyway, that's a whole different, that's a whole different thing. Yes, I'm affirming psalm singing. Uh, yes, I'm denying overly rigid understandings of what that is. But here's the words for Psalm 67, Setting B. That's important It's, "O God, show mercy to us and bless us with your grace and cause to shine upon us the brightness of your face, so that the whole world over may truly know your way and so that your salvation all nations see displayed. O God, let peoples praise you. Let all the peoples praise. Let nations come rejoicing and songs of gladness rise, raise." Then, um, stanza two, "For you will judge the peoples with perfect equity. To nations of the whole Earth a governor you'll be. O God, let the peoples praise you. Let all the peoples praise. The Earth has brought its bounty throughout its harvest days.  [00:04:24] Why Sing Psalms [00:04:24] Tony Arsenal: Since God our God will bless us, yes, God will blessing send, that all the Earth may fear Him to its remotest end." Now, there are lots of really great, uh, theologically sound, edifying hymns and worship choruses, but there's just something about the Psalms, right? It's inspired- Um- ... it's perfect. Again, like I said, nobody is singing the actual Hebrew Psalms, or even, I shouldn't say nobody, most people are not singing, like, the Psalms from the ESV, right? These are almost all paraphrases. They're, they're translations. But there's just something about the Psalms that I have grown so much to appreciate since joining a Presbyterian church. That's not to say other traditions don't sing Psalms in their own right, and again, like, we would sing Better Is One Day and other songs that were based on Psalms. Um, even, like, real direct translations or real direct versions of Psalms, like Better Is One Day or Create In Me A Clean Heart, there's all sorts of them. But there's just something about singing the Psalms, and this particular musical setting, it's triumphant, but not in the, like, fanfare kind of triumphant. Do you know what I mean, Jesse? Like- Mm-hmm ... it's, it's a triumphant melody, and it has, like, really interesting rises and falls and... So I, I'm gonna probably try to put this at the end of the episode. So listen. Hopefully I'll get the whole thing. Let me just, let me just do this. Hold on a second. It's just gorgeous. It's just beautiful. So I, I, I don't know what it was this morning. Uh, it's, I wasn't, like, promo- particularly emotional. It didn't, like, make me cry. Yeah. But all of that's fine. Like, I've been brought to tears in worship before, and that's, that's all good and well. There was just something about it that resonated, and I was like, "This is just good." Like, this is just good music. It's good singing. Something about hearing, uh, the whole congregation singing together. Like, it was just beautiful. It was just a beautiful moment. So if you are not in a psalm-singing church, first of all, why aren't you in a psalm-singing church? Uh, no worship leader on Earth, no, no person who is worth... Uh, when I say worship leader, I mean the person who's responsible for leading musical worship. No one who's leading worshipful music, worshipful? Worship music, if you approach them and say, "I would like to sing more songs that are based on the Psalms," if they say, "We don't wanna sing Psalms here," then you just go somewhere else. Like, someone who tells you, like, "We don't wanna s- we don't wanna sing God's Word," that doesn't make any sense to me.  [00:06:56] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:06:56] Tony Arsenal: Um, now again, like, there's a way to do it. Sometimes musically they're challenging, especially if you're singing out of something like the hymnal. But again, there are plenty of really good modern style songs and hymn style songs that are either based on the Psalms or are paraphrases, very similar to what you get in the, in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. Or most, most people who are leading in musical worship are competent enough to just sort of take the sheet music and figure out how to do it on guitar or figure out how to play it on piano. Um, they're not that difficult. So you will be edified if you do this. Your church will be edified. There's probably a lot of people out there responsible for musical worship that actually would really like to do this, and they're kind of probably, like, just waiting for that nudge, so you may even be benefiting them. But yeah, this, this psalm is beautiful. It's just a gorgeous arrangement, and it's, it's perfect, inspired words. Really was a, just a, a balm to my soul this morning.  [00:07:51] Jesse Schwamb: I love it. And o- of course, a lot of that is still happening, which is such a glorious gift to the church. The couple of times that I've had the privilege of writing music for my own church has been right from the scriptures, and for me recently that was, like, Ephesians 1 and Psalm 16. And that's mainly because, like, as a lyricist, I'm not that creative, and I'd rather go direct to the source. And all those end up being a paraphrase, like you said, anyway. Es- especially if you wanna get turn of phrase or if you wanna have a little bit of rhyming, which is always a beautiful thing. I love the Psalter, and my, my hot take on that is I sometimes find that I like, I don't wanna call them, like, the alternate, but, like, the other secondary arrangements-  Yeah and  lyrics better. I don't know why. I don't think that's purposeful, of course. It's probably just my taste. But I always find them to be, like, super fire. I, I don't know why. The, the B and C versions always kinda grab me, especially if... And here's another thing that I appreciate about the Psalter, as you know, is sometimes those B or C versions will be written in an alternate key or a minor key. Yeah. And that's even more awesome, because there's not a lot of, let's say, like, cla- I don't wanna say classic. Classic slash contemporary, uh, Christian music or wors- quote-unquote worship music that's written in minor keys. But it's good to lament, as we've talked about before. So- Yeah ... you're gonna get that full breath and scope in the Psalter there. [00:09:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:09:07] Beyond Music Styles [00:09:07] Tony Arsenal: A- and, you know, maybe let me put in one more little plug here. Um- I am not one of those people that is gonna say that there's like a particular style of music that's more godly than another. I've heard people try to make arguments that there's like certain kinds of rhythms or certain kinds of like beats that are- Right either, either more godly or somehow demonic or less godly. Um, I think there might be an argument to be made that some styles of worship are not suited well for congregational singing, so they may not be appropriate for like a, a congregational worship service. Like, you're probably not gonna go in and do a lot of hip hop and have the congregation be able to like stick with you. Right. That doesn't mean that you can't worship God through that or that it somehow is less like intrinsically beautiful. But, um, there are a lot of Let me just put it this way. In modern contemporary Western Christianity, uh, there's a lot of songs that are basically just the same thing musically. You know, you'll find, um, if you go to, like, YouTube, and, and maybe, like, be careful, 'cause sometimes some of these are, they're funny but they're a little bit crass. But if you look up, like, a video about how, like, every song is Pachel Bell's Canon. Right. Right? Every song follows the same basic arrangement of chords, and this gets even more pronounced when you're talking about modern worship music or contemporary mu- worship music, because it's designed to be able to be very simple and very easily played. Um, a lot of times worship directors are not super classically trained. Um, you think of, like, the youth pastor with the guitar around the campfire. Like, those kinds of songs have to be easy, 'cause they're not, like, classically trained guitar players. They probably picked up a chord book and figured out how to play a couple easy songs like Jesus, Lover of My Soul and things like that. That's how I learned how to play guitar. That's the extent of my skills, so I'm not, I'm not banging on that person. Um, but there are a lot, there's a lot more to music. Um, there's a lot more to singing, and there's a lot more to choral music than, you know, GCDC kind of like worship courses. Uh, and singing something like the Psalter, or even just singing out of a good hymnal- Right will actually expand your musical horizons. And there's something to be said about the creativity of our God being reflected in the creativity of His people that I do think we miss out on when we are locked into really simplistic worship styles. Um, again, like, I interpret Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to mean, like, sing in the vernacular of the people. Um, and I, you know, that's a different episode. We can talk about that sometime. But th- that, that requires the songs to be singable, and I think sometimes, uh, sometimes some of the song- some of the Psalters, some of the songs in the Psalter hymnals, and sometimes hymnals in general, are very difficult to sing. And so I think a congregation, the people leading in music need to be thoughtful of that. But I think you would do well to, like, open your horizons a little bit to something a little bit more challenging and a little bit off the beaten path. Like, this melody, I don't know the chords behind it. It may not be anything crazy, but that, like, musicality and that, that sort of, like, melody is not a typical... And this might be why it resonated with me. It's not a typical kind of melody you're gonna find in contemporary music. Um, it's, it's very different. It's older. It's more classically styled. The, it's, it's meant to sort of bring you up to these crescendos in ways that modern music is not necessarily. So enough about that. I don't know a lot about music theory, so I might be totally wrong and, and- ... people might be rolling their eyes. But I, I do think that there's something to it. Like, a lot of the older hymns- utilize chord progressions and melodies and harmonies and things like that that we're just not used to. You're not gonna get that listening to, you know, even something like, like the more musical kind, uh, more technically proficient music like something like Bethel or Hillsong, which is at times musically very good. Uh, I don't know that I would recommend listening to it, but the music is actually, like, technically very good in some instances. Uh, even there you're not gonna find a lot of this stuff. So instead of going there for, like, really nice sounding musical worship, just go to something like the Trinity Psalter app. You know, for $10 on a- on your iPhone you can sing with it. Um, yeah, enough about that. I, I, I could talk about how great the Psalms are and how great psalm singing is for an entire episode. We should do that episode- We should ... when we're done with the parables, 'cause I know we've done a lot of episodes on, like, uh, on, on, like, the regulative principle and- Right I, I think we're still both in the same spot that, like- Right ... exclusive psalmody is probably not where we would land. Right. But I think I'm coming to the conviction that the psalms should have a much greater portion of our worship diet, uh- Hmm ... than they do in most churches. Um, and I really only came to that conviction when I was in a church where psalm singing was the norm. Uh, I know that we try to have at least one s- one canonical psalm for every single worship service. Usually there's multiple, but, um, even in a, a, a setting where we normally wouldn't be so focused on that, we still try to have at least one, and it's been a, a really huge edifying thing to my soul.  [00:14:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I absolutely love that. You'll find no complaint from me on that. I think that that's a good reminder for all of us.  [00:14:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:14:14] Book Sing Recommendation [00:14:14] Tony Arsenal: Jesse, what do you have?  [00:14:15] Jesse Schwamb: Well, it's, we're not gonna stop this conversation, just so you know. Because we don't sync up on these things ever, but it just so happens that I'm affirming with a book that it's a really simple primer on congregational singing-  There you go that has  long been on my list and overdue to read, and I am coming in hot with a recommendation for this, and that is the book entitled Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty. And really, it covers so many of the things that you already talked about. I, I think at the foremost, it's a reminder that God cares whether in what we sing, but he does not mind how well we sing. Yes. But it is, like, the, this... What's true is that our voices might not be of a professional standard, but they are of a confessional standard. Yeah. And so it is incumbent upon every Christian to sing. And if you need just, like, a little bit of inspiration, so to speak, or a reminder of why that's important, I highly commend this book to you. In fact, in the back they have what's called, like, these bonus tracks. It's like four or five separate chapters that they've written just to particular people in the church, pastors, laypeople, musicians, even the people that help produce the sound. I found that bit to be so lovely and pastoral. It, it's gentle, the tone is encouraging, but it is also strong, and I appreciate that. So a lot of it is some of the themes that we've just talked about, but my conviction grows all the time of just how important congregational singing is, and how everything you just said, the music, the liturgy that we bring forward- has to be of a deliberate kind to strengthen that exercise, to make it easy, so to speak. And that does come into practical things like if you look at the psalter, and I, I don't... I have it on my phone, but I don't know where my phone is, so I was gonna look at the one you were referencing. My guess is it's, it's in probably a key with a couple of sharps in it, because those are the ones that are easiest to sing. So even little things like that matter. What you hear on the radio often is, or radio? People still listen to the radio? What you hear, like, in, like, contemporary music, like, often is not necessarily for congregational singing just in its key, and, and that's okay. And so even in my own church, we transpose things to make it reasonable and approachable. But what I think was, like, the critical question put forward in this book that I absolutely loved as a great reminder was: how did the congregation sing? It's very interesting that they kind of bring forward this thesis that that's how you should be judging your music. How did the congregation sing? And I think if we started asking that, it might slightly tweak or maybe change altogether, to your point, the methods and the practices that we use when we undergo worship by way or through music. So this is really great. It's easily readable, and it's for everybody, and it, there's a chapter on family worship as well, how to bring singing into your home and music into your home all the time as an act of worship so that when you get to the Lord's Day, your kids are like, "Yeah, this is our jam." Uh, especially maybe even recognizing some of the pieces of music and be excited about that. So there was a lot that made me think about here. It's fantastic. And to your point, Tony, I would say the Gettys, especially in, like, "Christ Alone," some of the other things, this is probably the closest to what you're talking about, where they've taken and imported kind of the classical hymn structures-  [00:17:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah [00:17:27] Jesse Schwamb: but modernized a little bit just the language while without sacrificing any of the theological richness or the musicality that draws your ear to those beautiful rising and falling melodies, the swelling of the vocal there, without, like, distracting from anything that's going on there. It's not emotionalism- Yeah but it certainly is filled with the emotion of what it means to be a Christian and to sing in response as an act of praise to God.  [00:17:50] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:17:52] Family Worship Singing [00:17:52] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I can't underscore enough the importance of congregational singing. We, we've, we've actually talked about, about it in context of, like, how important it is for the men of the congregation to sing, which is something I, I really appreciate about my congregation, is, is the m- the men just go all out. Like, people are, like- Love it ... nobody is, nobody is ashamed of the fact that they squawk on a note that they're not used to or anything like that. And where this really pays out, um, at least in our congregation, but I'd, I'd be willing to bet if you go to any congregation where the, where the men particularly are passionate and active in musical worship, right? Um, I think where this plays out is you see the children very quickly picking up those songs and learning them and singing them. And the, the favorite part of my day, this is gon- any parent of toddlers is gonna be like, "What are you talking about?" Bedtime is one of my favorite times of day, not just because it means that, like, in a little while I'm gonna get a little peace and quiet. Like, that's part of it, too, but there are two songs that we sing almost every single night, and Augie leads them, which is really great. He always wants to start, and he always wants to sing, and it's the Doxology and the Gloria Patri. And these are songs that he has just picked up from being in the congregation, and, you know, I, I don't remember consciously teaching him any of these songs. And now, now Adeline, who is, uh, my two-year-old daughter, almost two, she's starting to pick those songs up, and she's starting to sing them, and she recognizes them, and she responds very differently to those songs than she does to other songs. Um, it's funny because I don't, I don't know where she got this. Neither my wife nor I are particularly, uh, charismatic, emotive people. Like, we don't raise our hands when we're singing, but she, she does. She, she, when we start singing- My girl ... the Gloria Patri or the Doxology, her hand is in the air, and she's looking at the sky, and she's waving her hands around. Yeah. And, um, she recognizes that those songs have a different place than a Miss Rachel song. She doesn't put her hands in the air and wave and look up at the ceiling when Miss Rachel comes on or when Baby Shark comes on. She knows those songs. She can sing those songs. Um, but she doesn't- Respond to those in the same way. And that is a direct result of the fact that congregational singing is an important thing in the life of our church and in the life of our family. And I think a book like Sing, I haven't read it, but I've heard very good things about it, and the, the Gettys are rock solid, like- Right ... theologically. Yes. Musically. They're, they're well within our Reformed tradition, at least broadly speaking. Um, and, and they have a, they have one of the strongest sort of theologies of praise music that you're gonna find. Mm-hmm. It's not quite like a liturgiology or something like that, but it's, it's, it's a theology of praise worship, praise and worship music. Right. Um, and that's not something that's super common, right? There's a lot of theology of liturgy. There's a lot of practical theology on liturgy. Um, the Gettys have developed a really unique kind of place in things in that they've really developed this idea that congregational singing has a specific theological import, and they've developed it in a way that's approachable. So yeah, I haven't read it and I sh- I probably should, but it, it sounds like a really great book. And, um, I c- just can't underscore it enough. And- Maybe this is my little plug. Like, uh, family worship is really tough, and it's not something I've mastered. Like, we don't, we, we don't have a regular rhythm. But what we do have is we have a consistent, uh, we consistently pray at night before bed, and we consistently sing one or both of those songs. And that by itself, like, the kids are learning and they are, they're absorbing that by osmosis. Um, they're picking up the phrasing, right? Augie can tell you who the three persons of the Trinity are, and that's partially 'cause we do catechism questions, but it's also partially, and I would actually argue probably more, because of the Trinitarian structure of those two songs. Right. He's picked up the language of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son from the Gloria Patri and from the doxology in ways that probably I wouldn't have been able to teach him otherwise. So yeah. Anyway, I, I just co-opted your affirmation. But, um, but yeah. I'm here for it. Congregational worship, family worship, singing, uh, to our Lord is commanded, and it's commanded for our good- Right and for his, his benefit and his blessing. Um, and so any book that is, is solid and will help you do that, I, I'm wholeheartedly behind.  [00:22:17] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. This is... All that is fire. This is fire.  [00:22:19] Reclaim Congregational Song [00:22:19] Jesse Schwamb: God designed our psyche for singing, and we're probably, uh, I would say contractually obligated since Reformed is in the name of the title of the podcast- to remind ourselves and everybody else that one of the things the Reformation did was reclaim the singing of God's word by his own people. Yes. Taking it out of that performatory space back into literally the voice boxes of the people who are sitting in worship together. So sometimes we might have to do that again. You know, there is a little bit, I think, of... There, there is in some places, not everywhere, this kind of tilting of that time of worship through music to be vouchsafed or relegated to those who are, uh, let's say, like, the most, like, talented in doing that, and somehow we participate merely by observing or by- Yeah just, uh, you know, being an audience spectator of that, and that's totally backwards. So I get it. The thing is- We're all singers. We may not all be very good singers, but we're all created to be singers nonetheless. This is what the Bible tells us. So we need to lean into that. We need to invest in that. Yeah. And so I, I like, of course, what you're doing with, uh, your kids because you're not only teaching them to sing, and this makes me so happy, but you're teaching them to love singing to the Lord. Yeah. And so that is, I think, what a lot of our congregations miss, is sometimes we do it, and I'm among them often, but grudgingly. And so to get to a place where we come excited that our reasonable response, our reasonable preparation on the Lord's day is to sing together, to hear that gospel message in melody in the ear of our... You know, the voice of our neighbor in our own ear is a wild thing. It's just, like, un- unheard of. And it's like, uh, we gotta stop, right? It's one of those things also that, like- ... we've, we've talked about how it's just kind of otherworldly. Not, not only in the sense that it gives us this really kind of foundational sense of God's, you know, kind of transcendence, of what it means to participate in the worship of someone who is transcendent because it is all these voices together, but also this is something that rarely happens in any other way, especially in the Western culture anymore. This coming together to express and to participate in something where we're all reading literally from the same sheet music is just an entirely different experience, increasingly relegated to this kind of experience. So we, we must protect it, not only because God says that we ought to, but also because, again, it is, it is our reasonable response. Yeah. And it is something, like you've just said, that brings Him glory and is certainly for our good. So, uh, this is the Singcast, so everybody- ... everybody get to it. You can make your own music. God has commanded us to sing. So the sooner we just understand, like, hey, it's, it's... You know. Uh, but... And the last thing I'll say is this is one of those things that's, like, practice too. A- and I get it. Like, you may say, like, "Listen, I can only hit two notes, and that's all I'm gonna hit no matter what the music is." Well, then belt the two notes, and also know that, like, the more you practice that kind of thing, honestly, the better that you'll get and the more comfortable that you'll become. The voice is an instrument like any other instrument that takes, like, a little bit of practice and a little bit of work. But even that can cause, I think, great benefits and build a little bit of confidence. But just the example of singing and doing it from a heart that is keen to worship God and that is filled with passion to respond to Him with gratitude and, you know, adoration is really the key thing. And so I, I'd rather have a entire group full of worshipers that are singing off-key but, like, with just resounding passion than to have this performance of just a handful of voices because they feel like they're the most capable to do it. Yeah. I think we'd, we'd rather have everybody else, and to hear the congregation mixed as one of those instruments. So sing. Yeah.  [00:26:05] Everyone Can Sing [00:26:05] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and y- you and I have made the point in the past, too, like- I, I don't think, uh, maybe I'm wrong. Uh, we are a top 50 healthcare podcast, so maybe some doctor- I'm sure you're correct ... is gonna... Right. Like, I don't think being tone deaf is actually a physical condition. Like- Mm. I, I mean, I, I mean, obviously, like, some people have hearing problems, and that means they have trouble singing. I hear what you're saying. But, like, the people who are like, "Well, I j- I just can't sing. I'm just not capable of that," uh, like, I think the, the physical conditions that would make you incapable of singing are not usually what people are talking about. Like- Right. Yeah ... you know, some people have, like, vocal fold disorders or they have hearing problems, and I guess maybe, like, if perfect pitch is a thing, which it, it is. Like, perfect pitch is a... I don't know what causes it, but some people are born with perfect pitch. I suppose in theory that means some people must be born with, like, the opposite of perfect pitch. But I think most people who say, like, "Well, I just, I'm just tone deaf. I can't carry a tone," that, that's probably not true. Like, it just means you need practice. Um, and some people's voices, like physically, their bodies are more, more designed by God to produce a pleasant sound than other people. But I, I think actually just about anybody with a little bit of practice, and mostly I think this is probably just the confidence to actually sing and a little bit of practice to learn how your body works, like how your voice works, um, could probably get to a point where singing is not only very relatively comfortable and easy, but it's something that is pleasant and is not overly challenging. This is actually something that I think we've lost in the church. We should... This, I mean, this is about to come the episode, but, um- ... something we've lost in the church when we have sort of changed from a true genuine congregational singing model, which was the norm- And I've heard people make arguments about the importance of hymnals, and I, I agree with those arguments, although I know some people have moved them into almost like a realm of, like, divine mandate- Right that you have to use hymnals because it trains people to teach. But we have lost something with both the sort of commercialization of worship music and the pro- like making it a professional thing, and we've lost congregational singing. The, the people in the church throughout history have learned to sing. Many of them have learned to read, learned the scriptures, learned theology, not in the seminary and not in the monastery, but in the pew as they sing God's word and as they sing- Right ... the great theological hymns of, of the church. There's so much you can learn through that process that I just think we've lost. And I think going back to something like a hymnal or the Trinity Psalter Hymnal or whatever, whatever standard music your church is gonna use, and I mean standard music. Like, whether this is a collection of worship choruses that has been curated for the church or it's a published hymnal or something like that, going back to something like that teaches the church how to sing. And I don't remember who wrote it, but the trellis and the vine, like the worship that we sing, I know Mike Horton makes this point. The worship that we sing is the tre- is the trellis that the vine of our wor- of our- Yes ... faith grows on, right? That's true. Like, what the, what the church lex credendi, lex orandi. Like, the church, what the church prays, the church believes. What the church sings, the church believes. So all of that to say, like, the, the importance of congregational singing can't be under-emphasized, and it's... I, I mean, I don't know that I would I don't know that most theologists say technically s- like, congregational singing is an element of worship, but praising the Lord through song certainly is. Yes. It's, it's evidence. Um, and, and so I think that's definitely something that the church has lost in general. Um, and I know there are churches... I- it's funny, when Ashley and I were between churches, uh, very briefly after, um, our previous church closed down, um, we went to a local sort of, like, high, high, uh, production, seeker-sensitive church, very Steven Furtick-esque, and we only lasted, like, 10 minutes in this, in this service. We went in and the production value was great, and the music sounded great, but we couldn't hear ourselves, we couldn't sing- Right ... and it was very performative, and we just left. We were only there for a few minutes, and we left. And I think that's something we've lost as we've sort of migrated worship to almost, like, a professional class. So yeah, bring it back to the pews. Bring it back to your- Bring it back ... bring it back to your house, bring it back to your kid's bedroom when you're tucking them in. Everywhere. Bring it back to the car on the way to work, in the bus. Right. Like, just let's everywhere we go, let's sing and worship the Lord. [00:30:30] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's right.  [00:30:31] Train Your Voice [00:30:31] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, so as a final thing, let me compound your hot take and say that I agree with you, that I... And I think professionals would as well, and I'm gonna stand on a resource that I'm gonna recommend to everybody here in a second, that in fact the Getty say, "If you can speak, you can sing." And there are a f- a few conditions that would prevent you from doing that, of course. And even there, they wanna explore opportunities for you, for instance, signing, for instance, to ensure that you can participate in worship. Uh, the hot take is I do think that because the instrument that God has given us in the vocal cords is exactly that, that it can be trained, and that actually most people can sing. And if you're serious about that, if you think, "You know what? I'd like to be able to do that. How can I explore that?" Here's a book for you. It's called Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love. The full title is How to Get the Singing or Speaking Voice You Want. Roger Love is, like, this amazing behind-the-scenes vocal coach. He has coached, like, a ton of really talented recording artists, and this is his very contention in the book, is that everybody can sing. It's really about how much or little work you wanna put into it. And in fact, this book comes with, like, these exercises that you can listen to and then record yourself. And then he, from a distance basically, can give you some pointers based on allowing you to kinda evaluate what you hear in your own recording back. So if you really are the kind of person that's like, "Listen, I, I dare you. I cannot sing," I would challenge you, I would double dog dare you to get this book, Set Your Voice Free, and if you're really serious about wanting to try and see if it can make a difference, I, I think it can. And I've, I myself have enjoyed this book, gone back to it many times, use it in my own work and practice because I found it to be helpful. So there you go. Sing, sing, and sing again.  [00:32:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:32:07] Singing Apps and Practice [00:32:07] Tony Arsenal: And if you're not a reader, first of all, why are you listening to the podcast? But second of all, if for some reason you're not a reader I'm, I'm joking. I'm sure there are people that are listening to the podcast who are not readers. That was, like, a super smug thing to say. How dare you. I'm sorry about that. How dare you. Um, if for some reason you don't wanna read that book or you're not a reader, um, y- you can do something as simple as looking up Yousician on your Yousician, Y-O-U- Yeah ... S-I, like the word musician, but U instead of, like, Y-O-U instead of, uh, musician. Um, there are plenty of apps out there. I just, I mention Yousician just because I've used that on, like, a free trial basis with some guitar teaching, and it's a reputable source. They also have a vocal module. So, like, if you wanna learn to sing, there are plenty of resources out there who can help you train your voice. A- and it- Again, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a vocal coach, I'm not a professional singer. I'm not even that great of a singer, and I, I probably could be a better singer if I wanted to devote the time to it. Um, it doesn't take much to, to be able- Right ... to become a competent singer. Um, I think most of us, you pick up one s- just like I learned guitar, you pick one or two songs that you really like and you wanna learn, and you learn to sing those songs, and then those skills will develop over time. So enough about that, Jesse. We've got, speaking of talents- ... we've got some talents to talk about. There it is. Boom, bazinga. Baza-bazom. I'm  [00:33:27] Jesse Schwamb: back. There it is. Yeah, so- I was excited  [00:33:31] Tony Arsenal: about that one ...  [00:33:32] Jesse Schwamb: that, that was really good. And, and we should just h- honor everyone. That's it.  [00:33:37] Tony Arsenal: That's it. Tip your waiters and waitresses, folks. It  [00:33:39] Jesse Schwamb: was so good. We're here all week.  [00:33:41] Parable Context Setup [00:33:41] Jesse Schwamb: So we're in Matthew 25, uh, verses 14 through 28, and this is at least gonna be a two-parter for us. This goes by the name you might be familiar of, which is The Parable of the Talents. But before we get to it, just a quick reminder that we've been speaking about this parable, not like in a special way, but hopefully in the more contextual sense. So this is the second of three eschatological parables in Matthew 25. So the first was The 10 Virgins, which we went through. We're in The Talents, and then we're coming up to everybody's favorite, The Sheep and the Goats. All three are part of this Olivet Discourse, which is, of course, Jesus' final teaching block before his Passion. And I think it h- behooves us so that we do not get distracted from, like, the center of gravity of this thing, that this is delivered in response to the disciples' question about the sign of his coming and the age to come. Because I've heard so many, like, little talks, maybe homilies is more the right word, on this particular parable that lack gravity. So little gravity that basically NASA could train their astronauts in it. So we wanna stay away from that and I think get into, like, the, the proper context. So Tony, do you have it in front of you by any chance? And would  [00:34:50] Tony Arsenal: you- I do. I do, yeah. Yeah. Read it for us? I'll read it here.  [00:34:52] Reading the Parable [00:34:52] Tony Arsenal: So this is, uh, starting in, uh, Matthew 25 verse 14, and I'm gonna read down through, uh, the end of verse 30 here. So it, it reads here, "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them, entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, "Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." He also who had received one talent came forward, saying, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours." But his master answered him, "You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him who gave it, who give it to him who has 10 talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. For, uh, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  [00:36:56] Watchfulness and Stewardship [00:36:56] Jesse Schwamb: So it starts with that amazing connective, which we really spoke about in the last episode, in verse four- 14, starting with four. So it's tying, like we said, this parable directly to verse 13, which we know is in the, the parable of the ten virgins. But it's this idea of watchfulness. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." So th- I think this is the point we really drove last time, that we really felt highly convicted about, that this parable is not like a detached economic lesson, but it's really like an expedition, exposition, not expedition- ... of what watchful discipleship actually looks like during the interval of the master's absence. Like, that's the whole setup here. So it's starting with this idea of like the master goes away, but here we have these slaves or these servants who are entrusted. And to me, again, that's like such a linchpin in this whole thing, 'cause it's, it's carrying the sense that of course, like, he's handing over stewardship. It's a deposit held on another's behal- I love this parable because it has some banking language in it. It's, it's a deposit held on another's behalf, and that's like the key covenant concept of the entire thing. Ownership remains with the master. The servants are stewards. They're not proprietors. And that language, I think, really anticipates, like, the entire New Testament theology of stewardship, which is developed by Paul. So like when Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." So like all of that, that's like just one verse for me. Like, that's an incredible setup.  [00:38:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:38:28] Common Misreadings [00:38:28] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and you know, I think it bears saying, too, um, I wanna be careful how I say this because I don't wanna impugn, uh, poor motives or anything like that on, on the, the people that I'm about to speak to. And I say this a little bit tongue in cheek, but also I say this as someone who used to be deeply involved in youth ministry. There's kind of like a, a youth ministry, um- international version of the Bible, I guess, if you wanna put it that way, where, like, there are certain, certain passages and parables that s- for some reason seem really prone to misapplication- Sure in, in some context. And I would say, like, youth ministry is the one I have in mind. Like, um, one of them is, like, in Matthew 18 where it's like, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Like, that's a, that's a statement about God's, God's presence in the judgment of the church and excommunicating an un- like, a, an unrepentant, uh, person who identifies with Christ. And, and ironically here, maybe not ironically, but, like, casting them into the outer darkness of excommunication, which is representative of casting them out into the actual inner darkness of damnation. Right. Like, th- there's a, there's a misapplication of that, that like, well, you know, like, if only a couple people came to youth group tonight, like, it's still worth meeting because where two or three are gathered, there I am in the midst of them. Um, this, this parable has a very similar kind of misapplication that is maybe a, a little bit less of a misapplication. Like, I think there is something to say in this parable about the fact that God entrusts us with abilities, talents, treasure, t- our time. Like, He's entrusted us with resources, and He does expect us to use those resources, uh, in a way that is honoring to Him and beneficial for the, for the gospel and for the kingdom. Um, that's true in a broad sense, but I don't think actually that this is what that... But, like, that's not what this passage- Mm ... is teaching. Right. I think I, I kinda joked last time, but, like, I've heard more than one sermon that draws the parallel between the word talent here and our talents in terms of, like, our spiritual gifts or our ability to play guitar or, like, to bounce a basketball and, like, thr- like, throw a free throw. Like, that's not the kinda talent we're talking about here. So I wanna, I wanna sorta, like, point that out just to sort of exclude that from the conversation. Yes, God gifts His people, and He expects His people to use those gifts for His glory and for their own benefit. Um, but that's not what this parable is talking about. This is a parable about the fact that God has entrusted the kingdom of heaven on Earth to His people.  [00:41:08] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:41:08] Tony Arsenal: And He expects His people to make use of that in a way that expands the kingdom and also in a way that does not... And this is, this is, I actually think, the main point of the parable. In a way that properly understands the nature of the king. The, the punchline or the main point of the parable here, it, just to sort of, like, I don't know, give away the ending or, like, unbury the lead, I don't know, whatever that is. The point of this parable- It's not that, like, it's a really good thing to double what God has resourced you with. The point of the parable, the reason that, just like the, um, just like it wasn't the virgins falling asleep in the last parable that was the problem because everybody fell asleep, in this instance, uh, the amount of money or the amount of return on investment that the servants produce is not the point of the parable. That's not the real difference between them. The real difference is that the former servants understood that their master had trusted them with a task and expected something of them, and the, the unfaithful, wicked, lazy servant had a total misunderstanding of who the master was- Right ... and therefore what his role as the master's servant was. That's the point of this parable, and I think, this is the last thing I'll say before I, I, I take a breath here. There's a lot of people that would look at this parable and might read some sort of works righteousness or, um, and this is more understandable and I think has a place within the Reformed tradition, although I don't necessarily hold this view. But would look at this as sort of like a theology which would, would argue that we receive some sort of enhanced rewards in heaven based on our faithfulness. There's plenty of good, faithful Reformed Bible teachers that would hold that position. I actually think whether or not that's true, this is still also not what this passage is getting at. [00:43:00] Jesse Schwamb: I, I totally agree with you there.  [00:43:02] Talents as Huge Wealth [00:43:02] Jesse Schwamb: I, I think one of the reasons that we know that is because we can look at some of these details and let the details speak to us about the magnitude in their representation, why they're given. So of course, whenever the scripture gives us detail, especially in a context like a parable, it can be helpful of cour- of course not to overanalyze them, but to respect their place in the context of the story, and that's why verse 15 I think is so important. So to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability, then he went away. Now, this, this varies slightly, but there's a lot of, I think, very common historicity here that points us to understanding, like, the talents as a unit of monetary weight, and there is some discrepancy about its exact weight. But what we can say for sure is this: that we're talking about, as I teased at the beginning, a huge sum of money. So in other words, like, this is a gift from God himself. It's a divine gift. Yeah. It's something that's not earned. It's something that's given and something that's entrusted. So in the first-century Roman world, a talent was roughly equivalent to, like, 6,000 denarii, depending on who you talk to, which would mean that a single talent represented approximately, like, 20 years on average of a laborer's wages. So the sums then here we're talking about are staggering even at the lowest one. So the five-talent servant is receiving essentially approximately equivalent of a century's wages, and the one-talent servant is receiving 20 years' worth. There's no such thing as a small gift in Christ's economy, I think is the point here, and even the least endowment is immense beyond our reckoning. Yeah. So the distribution also is deliberately unequal. It's five, one, two, and the text doesn't offer any apology for this inequality. The master distributes to each according to his ability, which as I say that, I realize that could probably be its own episode, that we could talk about what that even means. Yeah. But he is matching and entrusting to capacity, and that's not arbitrary. Of course, that's wise and personal, and even the Greek here for this idea of capacity or power suggests the master knows his servants intimately and calibrates the stewardship accordingly. But nonetheless, it proves the point you're making here, which is not just about, like, well, do you have some kind of innate ability that's above average that God has endowed you with here? That's not even what we're talking about. Again, the whole point of this is to answer the question eschatologically about what the end means and when the time is coming and what good discipleship looks like. And so in that way, we understand then these talents to be these divinely appointed and massively generous gifts of God, essentially, like you said, the stewarding of the gospel in the story of salvation itself unto his people, and then to make something of that, so to speak, by the power of the Holy Spirit that earns a return for the kingdom, that is all empowered by God, that is under the volition of the person, uh, the Christian who says, "As a disciple, it is my responsibility to steward these gifts." That is really what we're after. So we do kind of get in this place where when you take this and say, "Well, what are you doing with," let's say- your home, if you have a nice home, are you being hospitable enough? If you have, let's say, a good singing voice by talent, are you using that to make sure that you're on the, quote-unquote, "praise and worship team," is not, like, entirely wrong, but it's not right either- Yeah to use this passage- Yeah ... for that purpose. There's a bigger theme here. There is, there's a much stronger and widescale framework that God is drawing us to and examine, and it's about the stewardship of the church itself.  [00:46:30] Tony Arsenal: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.  [00:46:31] The Foolish Servant Exposed [00:46:31] Tony Arsenal: That's really key, and this is what struck me as, as you were speaking about that, is like we see in so many of the kinda like, uh, like the chump in the parable. Like, there's- Yeah ... a lot of these parables have like a chump- Right ... where like you're looking at and you're like, nothing about what you've decided to do makes any sense. We're talking about people who've been given, in the first case, 100 years worth of, worth of wages. Right. Right? Any one of these people, and again, we're talking about a timeframe where, like, you could just take that money and run and, like, nobody's gonna find you. There's no digital trail on any of this, right? If I stole, if I stole 100 years worth of labor from my manager or from my, my employer, they would find me, right? That's not the situation we're talking about. So even the chump who decided, "I'm not gonna do anything with this," he could've just take- taken off with the money and had 20 years worth of labor. Right. Just 20 years worth of wages. Right. This is a, this is a sum of money that makes all f- all three of these servants unimaginably wealthy instantly, right? The point of this is, in part, that the final servant has no idea the amazing blessing and responsibility that he's been given. And again, I come back to this. It's not because he is dumb or because he is, um, somehow less competent in a strict sense, right? It, it's so funny to me, like, we also gloss over the fact that, like, the guy who has five talents, he's got 100 years worth of money, 100 years worth of wages. Right. And he just goes and gets 100 more. Like- Right he just goes and trades and- Right ... comes up with 100 years worth of wages that he brings back. Like, that's, in itself is, like, phenomenally, amazingly outrageous. We ran into this too with the, um, the parable of the unmerciful servant, right? We've, we've got one guy who's got this unimaginable debt, like, like, thousands of years worth of, uh, worth of wages that he could never make up, and he thinks he's gonna somehow come up with it if you just give him enough time. It's kind of like the opposite here. This guy's got this unimaginable amount of instant wealth, and he just buries it in the ground. First of all, how much... We're also talking about an era where money was a physical, entirely physical.  [00:48:53] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:48:53] Tony Arsenal: There were no, there were no digital banks. Like- No zeros and ones most of our money exists as ones and zeros in a computer program right now. Right. Like, in reality, like- Right ... my money doesn't exist. We don't have, like, a physical gold standard anymore in America. Jesse could probably s- I'm probably making dumb things up right now. No, that's that's- Like, it used- Right on to be that, like, every dollar that the United States government printed had, like, a piece of gold sitting at Fort Knox- Yes ... uh, like backing it up, but we just don't have that anymore. Most of the money that exists in our system is entirely imaginary. It's an entirely, like, made-up digital currency way before, like, Bitcoin was a thing. That's not the case in this timeframe. This dude who buried 20 years worth of money in the ground, that's a significant amount of labor in and of itself- Right ... to even be able to do that. So we're not talking about, like... And I think this is the thing we miss when we, when we read the word talents, and one, when we obscure it and we, like, we misappropriate the word talent to mean, like, abilities, 'cause it, that's a convenient, like, illustration tool. We're talking about a huge sum of probably gold or silver that this dude just buries in the ground, and then, like, digs it up when the master comes back.  [00:50:01] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:50:01] Tony Arsenal: And I think, like- When we don't realize how much money this is, we miss the force of the master's like, "You stupid, dumb, wicked, slothful servant." Like, if you had even taken this money to the bank and done the least imaginable- Yes ... effort. Exactly. Like, if you had done anything at all, like how mu- how difficult, granted more difficult back in this age than it is now, but like if you had even done something as simple requiring as little labor as possible and just brought this to the bank and let them collect interest on it, we'd still be talking about a huge return. [00:50:35] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:50:36] Tony Arsenal: And he doesn't even do that, and that's, that's the point. There's the people who do, and they gloss over this. The parable totally glosses over the amazing effort and work that it must have taken to take 100 years worth of la- of wages and turn it into 200 years worth of wages. Right. Or to take 40 years worth of wages and turn it into 80 years worth of wages. That's an amazing, probably almost miraculous return on, on investment. Whatever they did is amazing, and the parable's like, "Yeah, they did that." They just took it to the traders and they brought back five more talents. Like, it's nothing. And then this idiot, and I say idiot in like the most like, like exegetically sound, idios, like, like foolish idiot person. [00:51:20] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:51:20] Tony Arsenal: This idiot just buries it in the ground and doesn't even bother to bring it to the bank where he's gonna get some return on it. This is the picture of the fool who does not make use of the means of salvation. This is the picture of the fool who refuses to receive Christ as savior, who refuses to make use of the benefit and blessing of salvation that is available to all who will trust in Christ and turn to him. This is the same picture as the idiot virgins who didn't buy enough oil and just fell asleep when they knew that the bridegroom was coming, right? Right. It's not that they fell asleep, it's that they didn't do the most obvious, simple,

Dave Brisbin 5.31.26 Sin is central to Western Christianity. From original sin—understood as a genetic state of depravity, a separation from God unbridgeable by human effort—to our own personal sins—understood as unlawful behavior—all we can do is wait to be saved by an outside power—understood as an event, a granting of approval triggered by ritual practice or mental assent to doctrinal beliefs. I know…putting it that way is a bit hyperbolic. But only a bit. Especially in contrast to Eastern Christianity, which understands salvation as a process of theosis—a life of becoming more and more God-like in awareness, intent, daily presence and practice. By default, we're all legalists, believing we must earn everything we get. That's the physical reality of life around us, and human authority always uses reward/punishment to control behavior through fear. By the third century, the church had codified Jesus' message into more law, ironically missing the fact that Jesus constantly battled the religious legal system of his day that kept the people from their theosis, from direct experience of God. Sin is not behavior at all. Sin is the state of being separated. John sees Jesus as the one who takes away the sin of the world. Sin singular. Not endless acts of unlawful behavior, but the human condition, the egoic perception of separateness. Sin, hataha, is missing the mark of the fullness and oneness of God. The “sin” of becoming aware of self as a separate entity, represented in the Garden by eating of the tree, creates the fear that drives unlawful behavior. We say sin leads to separation, but sin is separation itself. Any act that leads to separation is sinful, but to focus on behavior, on symptom, is to lose sight of the cause—our separation anxiety. The Good News is that God's love is not legal, conditional, but the bedrock reality that any sense of separation is illusion. Pure egoic projection. To wake us from our illusion of separation, take away our sin, is Jesus' mission. For if we believe everything must be earned, nothing is freely received. We're either guilty or entitled. Never grateful. Never free to pursue our theosis.

REVELATION Ep1 Full Disclosure Just as Genesis is the book of beginnings, Revelation is the book of consummation. In it, the divine program of redemption is brought to fruition, and the holy name of God is vindicated before all creation. Although there are numerous prophecies in the Gospels and Epistles, Revelation is the only New Testament book that focuses primarily on prophetic events. Its title The Apocalypse means “unveiling” or “disclosure” or “revelation.” It is also called The Revelation of Jesus Christ. This means both a revelation which came from Christ and a revelation which is about Christ—both are true. Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,  2. who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.  3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, (theme of past present and future) and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,  5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,  6. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (NB theme of past present and future) 9. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,  11. saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”(turkey not Jerusalem) 12. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13.  and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.  14. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;  15. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;  16. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.  17. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  18. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.  19. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.  20. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of who and what Jesus is to the church to the world and to eternity. Scholars have viewed these prophecies through four primary lenses. While each perspective seeks to honour the work of the Holy Spirit, I hold  the Futurist view in this study because it mentions things that have happened in history, inspires faith in the "here and now" of Christ's absolute authority over and through His Church and it looks forward to the future Second Coming with a living hope. 1. Preterist - depicting the current Roman struggle against the church and not future prophesy throughout the ages of the second coming of Christ. They say he came in 70 AD when Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. But we see in Revelation 1:7 that John was prophesying the Day of The Lord - the Second Coming and judgement. 2. Historical - The struggle of the church against the world system through the ages. 3. Spiritual - depicting nothing literal or historical at all, but purely symbolical. 4. Futurist - depicting events that would surely take place in the church, the world and eternity, after the time of John, and beginning significantly with the opening of the first of the seven seals in chapters 5 and 6 (also see Ch.4 vs 1 – things to come)  Revelation 4:1… And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” This leads us to take note of the three divisions of time. Revelation 1.19 write the things that you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. 1. Things you have seen - chapter 1 2. Things which are - chapters 2 to 4 – the 7 churches. 3. Things with shall be - chapter 4 onwards. There are three persons involved in this revelation – Jesus – John – The messenger. I submit to you that the messenger, or angel that gave this prophecy to John is Enoch, and we will now look at some evidence.  1. Records in Genesis 5 and Hebrews 11 confirm that Enoch is physically in Heaven with God. This creates a theological necessity – Enoch has been given a Divine exemption and is released from the prison of his appointment with death.  Hebrews 9:27 it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. But he is not the only one! There will be a generation of people who will be caught up from the earth to meet Jesus in the air when he returns.   Psalm 102:18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD…From heaven the LORD viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death, 2. The Bible link for Enoch  Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him - and Jude 14  Jude 14. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all. This prophecy of the Second Coming is virtually identical to Revelation 1:7 3. When linked with the messenger's self-identification in Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  And ch.22:9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, The evidence presents this historical figure as being uniquely commissioned to return and declare the unveiling to John. The Book of Revelation was written about 95-AD by the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos while he was in exile under the persecution of Domitian. The apostle Peter and Paul had been martyred just previously under the persecution of emperor Nero. This dating mainly comes from early church testimony, especially Irenaeus in the second century, who said the vision was seen “toward the end of Domitian's reign.” Irenaeus lived from 120 to 202 AD, and the future hope of the return of Christ became the dominant position in both Eastern and Western Christianity and still is. Added to this is the fact that the seven churches in Asia Minor that John writes to would logically have been more developed and established at that time. The book of sevens  Revelation 1:4 - John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be to you, and peace, from him which is, which was, and which is to come - and from the seven spirits which are before his throne. (see also vs.20) Here there are mentioned seven spirits and seven churches, and of great significance later in the book are 1. The 7 seals 2. The 7 trumpets from seven agels 3. The 7 vials 1. The seven seals - the seven seals are seals of a book of events which are to happen worldwide (ch5.1) Which include the revelation of a conquering church, judgments upon the earth, and signs and wonders in the heavens. These events take place progressively and will be studied in detail later. The 7th seal actually contains another series of events called the seven trumpets.  2. The seven trumpets- The seven trumpets blown by seven angels are also a series of worldwide events that are judgments upon the earth, they are not final judgments but are meant to turn people to God. And the 7th trumpet contains in its blast, the seven vials.  NB The 5th angel releases locust/scorpion spirits which torment people for five months but those sealed with the Holy Spirit are protected – just as Noah and family were protected for 5 months in the ark. I met up with some close Christian friends from Inverell at a function this week and I shared that I'd be teaching the Book of revelation this coming Sunday, and they mentioned the passages about the scary demonic locusts that had a sting like scorpions (ch.9). They said that some people thought they were symbolic of fighter planes etc. But we agreed that they were definitely of a spiritual nature, set free by an angel for five months and not allowed to kill those with the seal of God – the Holy Spirit. And the next day, Thursday there was a report from the Whitehouse that the Senate had been asked to disclose information about aliens and UFO's… Three years ago the USA Senate were asked to disclose that information about aliens and UFO's, and the topic was quashed, because the number of reports and polarising opinions was causing too much chaos. The same thing happened in the early 70's in the midst of a move of the Holy Spirit. At that time there were reports from aeronautical scientists and the AirForce and the Military about Roswell and objects seen to be moving at incredible speed. Odd but human-like little aliens were reported to have even been captured or preserved or whatever. That report was shut down many months later under suspicious circumstances. So now the senate is about to do the disclosure of all the evidence of the various reports from over the years. And conveniently on Thursday there appeared ads of a new release of a movie called ‘Disclosure Day' directed by Stephen Spielberg about aliens and UFO's and cosmic chaos in the Heavens.  I don't know why the Government and the media and Hollywood or whoever else are hitting the global airwaves with this and trying to control some sort of cultural narrative but it will have a scary chaotic spiritual influence on our current society. It will be deceptive bur will contain enough true documentation to get people all over it with the usual opinions and political and tribal disputes If I am going to be asked questions I'd like to be as prepared as I can be because there will be distortions and confusion abounding.  Luke 21:11 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights (phobitron- frightening things that strike terror) and great signs from heaven. 3. The seven vials - the seven vials are seven final judgments which come up on the earth during the time of the great tribulation. The key verse- Revelation 1:7 - behold he comes with clouds. And every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him. And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen This is ‘The Day of The Lord' – which incorporates  1. The Resurrection of the dead (including they who pierced him, the Romans, the Jews, our sins),  2. The inauguration of Judgement,  3. The unveiling of Christ,  4. Books being opened and  5. Creation being brought into its final state before God (Romans 8:21)  All this will occur in stages as we see in the Book of Revelation, in a way beyond our imagination or earthly view, as if of some court case in a grand mammoth court. This book is an unveiling of the character and program of God and that is what we shall be seeking to understand through the Holy Spirit in our study of Revelation Paul OSullivan  pauloss @me.com

Dave Brisbin 5.31.26 Sin is central to Western Christianity. From original sin—understood as a genetic state of depravity, a separation from God unbridgeable by human effort—to our own personal sins—understood as unlawful behavior—all we can do is wait to be saved by an outside power—understood as an event, a granting of approval triggered by ritual practice or mental assent to doctrinal beliefs. I know…putting it that way is a bit hyperbolic. But only a bit. Especially in contrast to Eastern Christianity, which understands salvation as a process of theosis—a life of becoming more and more God-like in awareness, intent, daily presence and practice. By default, we're all legalists, believing we must earn everything we get. That's the physical reality of life around us, and human authority always uses reward/punishment to control behavior through fear. By the third century, the church had codified Jesus' message into more law, ironically missing the fact that Jesus constantly battled the religious legal system of his day that kept the people from their theosis, from direct experience of God. Sin is not behavior at all. Sin is the state of being separated. John sees Jesus as the one who takes away the sin of the world. Sin singular. Not endless acts of unlawful behavior, but the human condition, the egoic perception of separateness. Sin, hataha, is missing the mark of the fullness and oneness of God. The “sin” of becoming aware of self as a separate entity, represented in the Garden by eating of the tree, creates the fear that drives unlawful behavior. We say sin leads to separation, but sin is separation itself. Any act that leads to separation is sinful, but to focus on behavior, on symptom, is to lose sight of the cause—our separation anxiety. The Good News is that God's love is not legal, conditional, but the bedrock reality that any sense of separation is illusion. Pure egoic projection. To wake us from our illusion of separation, take away our sin, is Jesus' mission. For if we believe everything must be earned, nothing is freely received. We're either guilty or entitled. Never grateful. Never free to pursue our theosis.

Full Text of Readings Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church Lectionary: 572A The Saint of the day is Saint Bede the Venerable Saint Bede the Venerable's Story Bede the Venerable is one of the few saints honored as such even during his lifetime. His writings were filled with such faith and learning that even while he was still alive, a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches. At an early age, Bede was entrusted to the care of the abbot of the Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow. The happy combination of genius and the instruction of scholarly, saintly monks, produced a saint and an extraordinary scholar, perhaps the most outstanding one of his day. He was deeply versed in all the sciences of his times: natural philosophy, the philosophical principles of Aristotle, astronomy, arithmetic, grammar, ecclesiastical history, the lives of the saints and especially, holy Scripture. From the time of his ordination to the priesthood at 30—he had been ordained a deacon at 19—till his death, Bede the Venerable was ever occupied with learning, writing, and teaching. Besides the many books that he copied, he composed 45 of his own, including 30 commentaries on books of the Bible. His Ecclesiastical History of the English People is commonly regarded as of decisive importance in the art and science of writing history. A unique era was coming to an end at the time of Bede's death: It had fulfilled its purpose of preparing Western Christianity to assimilate the non-Roman barbarian North. Bede recognized the opening to a new day in the life of the Church even as it was happening. Although eagerly sought by kings and other notables, even Pope Sergius, Bede the Venerable managed to remain in his own monastery until his death. Only once did he leave for a few months in order to teach in the school of the archbishop of York. Bede died in 735 praying his favorite prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As in the beginning, so now, and forever.” Reflection Though his History is the greatest legacy Bede the Venerable has left us, his work in all the sciences, especially in Scripture, should not be overlooked. During his last Lent, Bede worked on a translation of the Gospel of Saint John into English, completing it the day he died. But of this work “to break the word to the poor and unlearned” nothing remains today.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Pentecost is a major Christian holiday celebrated 50 days after Easter that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus, an event that empowered them to spread the gospel. Eastertide, also known as Paschaltide or the "Great Fifty Days, is the liturgical season in Christianity that lasts for 50 days, ending in Western Christianity on Pentecost Sunday. This time of year spans from the resurrection of Jesus to the descent of the Holy Spirit, covering the 40 days of his post-resurrection appearances and the 10 days leading to Pentecost. The Catholic Talk Show available at https://amzn.to/3QvHoZ3 Books about Pentecost at https://amzn.to/42KNn1N Easter books available at https://amzn.to/4cApHB7 Books about the Road to Emmaus at https://amzn.to/4sO6mDL ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Catholic Talk Show podcast featuring Ryan DellaCrosse, Ryan Scheel, and Fr. Rich Pagano — Episodes: 33, What Did Jesus Do For The 40 Days After The Resurrection? (23apr2019). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Sermon Extra, Pastors Nick and Michael discuss John 14 and explore one of the most important questions about the Trinity: What did Jesus mean when He said, “the Father is greater than I”?Through the Upper Room Discourse, they unpack what Scripture reveals about the nature of God, the relationship between the Father and the Son, and why understanding the Trinity still matters for Christians today. Discover how Jesus' words reveal both His humility and His divine nature, and why sound theology leads to deeper worship and confidence in Christ.Understanding the Filioque Controversy: Politics, Theology, and the Divide Between Eastern & Western Christianity: https://nickcady.org/2026/05/06/understanding-the-filioque-controversy-politics-theology-and-the-divide-between-eastern-western-christianity/St. Patrick's Bad Analogies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw

What happens when a pastor encounters the werewolf legends rooted in real spiritual warfare?In this episode, Tony sits down with Pastor Dave Bryan, from The Church of Glad Tidings in California, for a mind-bending conversation about deliverance, demonic oppression, and the supernatural realities many churches refuse to confront. Dave shares the chilling story of an Ivy League professor who claimed a witchcraft ritual invited a werewolf spirit into his life. What began as a teaching on Nebuchadnezzar's beastly transformation became a private deliverance encounter that Dave says changed the man's life. They also discuss spiritual warfare, the unseen realm, and why Western Christianity often struggles to believe the Bible's strangest stories. This episode pulls back the curtain on a world where darkness is real, but the authority of Jesus Christ is greater.Please pray for Tony's wife, Lindsay, as she battles breast cancer. Your prayers make a difference!If you're able, consider helping the Merkel family with medical expenses by donating to Lindsay's GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/b8f76890

Paul Axton preaches: In this sermon on the necessity of love of enemy to arrive at the perfection of God, the focus is on the possible insight the "enemy" such as Islam and Iran might have into the failures of Western Christianity.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work. Become a Patron!

In this episode of Journey of Hope, host Elio Constantine sits down with Heart for Lebanon's newest team member, John Frick, Senior Director of Development, for a thoughtful conversation on stewardship through the lens of Scripture and mission.What begins as a discussion about giving quickly expands into a deeper exploration of what it truly means to live as stewards of everything God has entrusted to us—time, resources, influence, and life itself. Drawing from Jesus' teaching on loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength, John unpacks how stewardship is not limited to finances, but is instead a full-life posture of surrender and obedience.He reflects on the biblical foundation of stewardship beginning in creation, where humanity was entrusted with the care of God's world, and how that calling continues today. From there, the conversation turns to how Western Christianity often narrows stewardship into a financial concept, while Scripture presents something far more holistic and transformative.John also shares his perspective on Heart for Lebanon, highlighting how the ministry uniquely integrates both Gospel proclamation and practical care—feeding the hungry while also making disciples, in the spirit of both Matthew 25 and Matthew 28. He describes this as a “holistic Kingdom approach,” one that reflects the way Jesus Himself ministered.Having known Heart for Lebanon's founder Camille Melki for over a decade, John speaks to the ministry's impact in Lebanon and why he felt called to join the team. He emphasizes that what is happening through Heart for Lebanon is far beyond human explanation—evidence of God's hand at work as grassroots leaders are equipped, disciples are made, and communities are transformed.The episode closes with a challenge to listeners: to step into where God is already at work. As John echoes Henry Blackaby's well-known principle, stewardship ultimately becomes about joining God in His mission and faithfully offering Him all that we have.Show NotesWhat is Biblical Stewardship?Stewardship includes far more than moneyRooted in Jesus' command to love God fully (heart, soul, strength)Everything we have belongs to GodDiscipleship is lived through obedience, not partial surrenderA Whole-Life Understanding of StewardshipTime, talent, influence, and resources all belong to GodTithing is not the limit of obedience—it is the beginning of surrenderTrue stewardship flows from recognizing God as the owner of all thingsBiblical FoundationsCreation mandate: humanity called to steward God's worldGenesis shows stewardship continues even after the FallJesus' teaching: “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?”Heart for Lebanon's Model of MinistryIntegrates physical care and Gospel proclamationReflects both Matthew 25 (compassion) and Matthew 28 (disciple-making)Built on a holistic Kingdom vision, not separated ministriesKingdom Impact in LebanonGod is raising up grassroots leadersDiscipleship happens in homes and communitiesGrowth is described as beyond human explanation—“punching above its weight”A Call to ParticipationFind where God is already at workJoin Him rather than trying to lead independentlyStewardship is ultimately about obedience and participation in God's missionKey TakeawayStewardship is not about managing a portion of what we own—it is about surrendering all of who we are and joining God in what He is already doing.Connect & Pray With Us

Friends of the Rosary,Today, April 25, is the Feast of St. Mark, the Evangelist, author of the second Gospel.He was baptized and instructed by St. Peter, becoming his disciple, secretary, and friend in Rome.Later, St. Mark accompanied St. Paul and St. Barnabas in their first missionary journey.His Gospel, written in the year 50 A.D., described the miraculous powers of Christ and was written to Romans, that is, to Western Christianity.Mark's Gospel is the "Gospel of Peter," as it was written under the direction and aid of the prince of the apostles.The Evangelist Mark is represented as a lion, one of the four creatures who worship the Lamb in Revelation 5:6-14, and because he opens his Gospel with the figure of John the Baptist, the “voice crying out in the wilderness”, recalling the roar of the desert beast.St. Mark preached in Egypt, especially in Alexandria, and was martyred there. His relics were transferred from Alexandria to Venice in 828, where a worthy tomb with the winged lion was erected in St. Mark's Cathedral.Alleluia! Christ is Risen!Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• April 25, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

April 19th | Made For More | Acts 2In this episode, Pastor Todd Kaunitz continues the Made for More series with a powerful reminder: your life was designed to outlive you. What if the way you live today could have eternal impact?Walking through key moments in the Book of Acts, Pastor Todd challenges a common misconception in Western Christianity—that church is just a place we go or a weekly event we attend. Instead, he paints a compelling picture of the church as a movement of people on mission. A body, not a building. A calling, not just a calendar activity.At the center of this message is a simple but transformative truth: God's plan to change the world is through everyday disciples—people who are fully dependent on the Holy Spirit through prayer and boldly deployed as witnesses of Jesus in their everyday lives.You'll explore how the early church, though lacking resources, influence, or wealth, turned the world upside down through a deep reliance on the Holy Spirit. Their secret wasn't strategy—it was surrender. Their power didn't come from programs—it came from prayer.From Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, ordinary believers stepped into extraordinary purpose, sharing the Gospel wherever they lived, worked, and went. And the same invitation stands today.This episode will challenge you to rethink your role in God's mission, recognize your circle of influence, and respond to the Holy Spirit with bold obedience.You were made for more—and that “more” starts now.Do you know JESUS? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nbgilmer.org/do-you-know-jesus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Need PRAYER? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nbgilmer.org/pray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support through GIVING: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nbbctx.org/giving⁠

Goodness is treated very differently by George RR Martin than it is by Tolkien. This dichotomy is most apparent in the characters of Ned Stark and Aragorn. In this episode, Daniel will explore how that characteristic is destructive for one and life-giving for another. Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982   Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61   Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast   Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

Join hosts Katy Reed Hodges, Luke Stehr, and Dr. Dennis Wiles as they explore what it truly means to be "Pentecostal people" during the season of Eastertide. This episode tackles the big theological questions: What is Eastertide and why does it matter? How do we understand Pentecost as central to Christ's redemptive work? And how do we interpret the Book of Acts without falling into spiritual complacency? Dr. Wiles makes a compelling case that Pentecost represents far more than a historical event—it's the inauguration of the "new temple era" where the Holy Spirit empowers the church to advance God's kingdom globally. Whether you're wrestling with the role of spiritual gifts in today's church or wondering why Western Christianity feels spiritually flat, this conversation challenges you to expand your vision of what God is doing in the world.The hosts dig deeper into a critical tension: How do we embrace the full reality of God's supernatural work without claiming that everything in Acts should happen today? Through personal stories of mission work and exposure to the global church, Dr. Wiles reveals how Western secularism has trapped us in a "two-dimensional" view of life, cutting us off from the spiritual reality that brothers and sisters around the world experience daily. This episode is an invitation to read Scripture with fresh eyes, recognize the cosmic salvation history unfolding around us, and step into the dynamic, Spirit-empowered life that Jesus promised. Listen in as the team discusses church announcements, including exciting camp opportunities for students, and discover why understanding Pentecost matters for your faith today.

Orthodox Easter this year was a week later than Western Christianity. I was able to take a unique journey into Orthodox Easter traditions and the historical resilience of early Christianity. https://youtu.be/h8xYSNU9e6o It was a fascinating experience to visit St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Clearfield, Utah, after meeting a California member named Daniel Michalski. Unlike Western traditions, the Coptic Easter service is held on Saturday night and can last up to four hours, featuring a blend of English, Coptic, and Arabic chanting. One of the most striking rituals is the procession of the icon of Christ, which is buried in roses during Holy Week and then “resurrected” as the lights are turned on, accompanied by the unique sound of cymbals. Beyond the personal experience, we dove into the history of the Coptic Church, which split from Western Christianity in 451 AD following the Council of Chalcedon over complex theological debates regarding the nature of Christ. This history is framed within a broader discussion of the early Christian era, moving from the movement’s roots as a persecuted sect to its establishment as the Roman state religion under Constantine. Most Mormons are familiar with the death and resurrection of Christ and Constatine's ascension in the 4th century,  but know little about history of Christianity in the centuries in between. I discussed various early factions, such as the Gnostics, who prioritized secret wisdom over the physical resurrection, with the orthodox view that eventually triumphed. We also touched on the following key points: LDS Perspectives: We emphasized the physical resurrection of Jesus, citing recent General Conference messages regarding the victory of the empty tomb. Calendar Differences: The discrepancy between Western and Orthodox Easter dates were explained by the use of the Julian calendar versus the Gregorian calendar. Coptic Practices: Insights into infant baptism by immersion, the practice of closed communion, and the fact that Coptic priests can be married are also highlighted. Community Highlights: The episode concludes with a book giveaway of Holiness to the Lord and a teaser for a future discussion with Dr Matthew Bowman on the “Christian” roots of basketball.   Part 1: Personal Experience and the Coptic Orthodox Easter Service 0:00 – Introduction and Book Giveaway: 2:00 – Meeting Daniel Michalski: 5:00 – Attending the Coptic Service in Clearfield: attending a four-hour Saturday night Easter service, including observations on the small congregation and the use of English, Coptic, and Arabic. 10:00 – The Resurrection Ritual: An explanation of the dramatic liturgical moment where an icon of Christ is “resurrected” from a bed of roses, accompanied by chanting and cymbals. Part 2: History of Early Christianity 15:00 – The Great Schism of 451: includes a discussion on the Council of Chalcedon and how a theological dispute over a preposition regarding the nature of Christ led the Coptic Church to split from Western Christianity. 19:00 – Historical Jesus and the Temple: The host analyzes the cleansing of the temple as a political act of subversion that directly led to Jesus’s execution. 23:00 – The Crucifixion and Gospel Narratives. 27:00 – Mechanics of Crucifixion. Part 3: Early Factions and the Rise of Orthodoxy 29:00 – The Gnostics and Secret Wisdom, including a mention of the Gospel of Judas. 32:00 – Marcionites and the Canon:. 34:00 – Bishop Irenaeus and “Straight Thinking”: The origins of the term “Orthodox” and the establishment of the four-gospel rule. 37:00 – Eras of Roman Persecution: Christian martyrs, including the story of Perpetua. Part 4: Constantine and the Modern Church 41:00 –Constantine Transformation. 45:00 – LDS Perspectives on Easter. 47:00 – Coptic Practices Explained. Part 5: Conclusion and Teasers 53:00 – Book Giveaway Results. 54:00 – The Future of “Church Ball”: Upcoming interview about the Christian roots of basketball and the role of Mormon missionaries in spreading the sport. 56:00 – Calendar Discrepancies: explanation of why Orthodox Easter often falls on a different date due to the Julian vs. Gregorian calendars.

Throughout history, the Biblical figure Mary Magdalene has been interpreted and presented in numerous ways, often to serve the religious Western Christianity patriarchies in power. All of these concerted efforts make tracing her history difficult, but underneath it all, she threatened power structures and resonates today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paschaltide, also known as Eastertide or the "Great Fifty Days, is the liturgical season in Christianity that lasts for 50 days, ending in Western Christianity on Pentecost Sunday. This time of year spans from the resurrection of Jesus to the descent of the Holy Spirit, covering the 40 days of his post-resurrection appearances and the 10 days leading to Pentecost. Let’s continue delving deeper into this Holy season. The Catholic Talk Show available at https://amzn.to/3QvHoZ3 Easter books available at https://amzn.to/4cApHB7 Books about the Road to Emmaus at https://amzn.to/4sO6mDL ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Catholic Talk Show podcast featuring Ryan DellaCrosse, Ryan Scheel, and Fr. Rich Pagano — Episodes: 33, What Did Jesus Do For The 40 Days After The Resurrection? (23apr2019). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eastertide, also known as Paschaltide or the "Great Fifty Days, is the liturgical season in Christianity that lasts for 50 days, ending in Western Christianity on Pentecost Sunday. This time of year spans from the resurrection of Jesus to the descent of the Holy Spirit, covering the 40 days of his post-resurrection appearances and the 10 days leading to Pentecost. The Catholic Talk Show available at https://amzn.to/3QvHoZ3 Easter books available at https://amzn.to/4cApHB7 Books about the Road to Emmaus at https://amzn.to/4sO6mDL ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Catholic Talk Show podcast featuring Ryan DellaCrosse, Ryan Scheel, and Fr. Rich Pagano — Episodes: 33, What Did Jesus Do For The 40 Days After The Resurrection? (23apr2019). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Honoring the Journey, I sit down with Rev. Joash Thomas—priest, public theologian, and author of The Justice of Jesus. Joash shares his journey from an Indian Pentecostal upbringing in Mumbai, to political consulting in Georgia, to a powerful awakening that led him into human rights work. We talk about how Western Christianity has been shaped by colonialism, the difference between the “colonizer's Jesus” and the historical Jesus, and how practices like prayer were meant to form us—not control outcomes. This conversation got personal for me, especially when we talked about the cost of deconstruction—the grief, the loneliness, the loss of community. Joash offers such a grounded, compassionate perspective here, reminding us that love, curiosity, and “holy indifference” can guide us forward. We close with a simple invitation: to look for the face of Jesus in the people around us—especially those on the margins. You can find Joash's work through his book and his Substack, Masala Chai Theology. Find out more about Joash on his website: https://www.joashpthomas.com/ Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.Pick up Leslie's book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.comIf you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

pWotD Episode 3258: Good Friday Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 319,118 views on Friday, 3 April 2026 our article of the day is Good Friday.Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum.Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant, and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours' Agony is held from noon until 3 p.m.— the hours the Bible records darkness covering the land until Jesus' death on the cross. In the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions, the Stations of the Cross are prayed in the evening of Good Friday, as with other Fridays of Lent. Members of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world. Some predominantly Christian countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts—public dancing, horse racing—in remembrance of the somber nature of Good Friday.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 03:06 UTC on Saturday, 4 April 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Good Friday on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Matthew.

On the Sunday before Easter is the Christian moveable feast of Palm Sunday that commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honor Jesus of Nazareth as he entered the city. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week and the beginning of the last week of the solemn season of Lent, preceding Eastertide in Western Christianity. Enjoy this ENCORE Presentation! Keith Nester books available at https://amzn.to/4hmQylq Gospel of Matthew available at https://amzn.to/3LEeP8F Historical Jesus books available at https://amzn.to/43rnYbq ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: Unpacking the Mass podcast with Keith Nester, (30mar2023, Palm Sunday). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this monologue episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon shares some of his recent thinking about the ways Western Christianity has  misinterpreted (or ignored) his actual teachings in such a way that we have the rise of Christian Nationalism, increased Patriarchy, name calling, scapegoating, devastating harm to individuals and families, and the notion that Christians have the right to pass judgment on everything! Dan approaches these issues by first asking if Christianity is right about its views that the primary problem in the world is sin (particularly individual sin), which therefore requires a "Savior" to overcome the effects of it and allow us to be "saved." Dan takes us through a fast survey of other religious traditions that don't see "sin" as the primary problem. Eastern traditions don't talk about it in any depth, naming instead things like people being out of harmony with the Tao, out of balance with one's surroundings, suffering because crave things to go the way we want them to but never will, etc. These traditions produce many adherents who are transformed, who see clearly, act harmoniously, are compassionate, eschew violence, and so forth. We Christians might say they are "Christlike," yet we know they became so without any thought of "sin" and "Saviors." So how do we see Jesus and his work differently? As we read scripture, we see that he proposed the two great commandments as forms of "Love." Wholehearted, fully conscious, love. He teaches of the virgins who were able to enter into his presence and why they were allowed. His responses to the temptations in the wilderness reveal much about him and what he is about, while also suggesting for us that we meet the challenges in our lives and fearfulness in the same way. He talks about the Kingdom of God being "within" us--not "out there" or a place to go to. And much more. Listen in! See if he makes a compelling argument that Christianity's ability to transform us in Godlike ways requires us to see Jesus and his actual messages in new ways.

This week, we’re joined by beloved television host, actress, songwriter, and author Kathie Lee Gifford. Kathie Lee shares her deeply personal faith journey, emphasizing that she is not a “churchy person” but a “relationship person.” She advocates for understanding the Scriptures deeply, going beyond surface-level readings, and ultimately seeking to bring Jews and Christians together in the love story of God. Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Dr. Julia Garcia, also known as Dr. J., who joins us to dismantle the myth that hope is an elusive personality trait. Drawing from years of clinical practice and her own raw, lived experience—including overcoming addiction, failed businesses, and seasons of deep uncertainty—Dr. J offers a powerful, practical pathway back to hope, even when the darkness feels permanent. Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Tauren Wells Upcoming interview: Nathan Davis Jr. Jesus Calling app Kathie Lee Gifford Psalm 143:8 Psalm 103 Psalm 25:4-5 Acts 17:28 www.KathieLeeGifford.com Nero and Paul Herod and Mary Dr. Julia Garcia The 5 Habits of Hope www.DrJuliaGarcia.com This episode is sponsored by Trinity Debt Management. If you are struggling with debt, call Trinity today. Trinity’s counselors have the knowledge and resources to make a difference. Our intention is to help people become debt-free, and most importantly, remain debt-free for keeps! Call us at 1-800-793-8548 | https://trinitycredit.org TrinityCredit – Call us at 1-800-793-8548. Whether we’re helping people pay off their unsecured debt or offering assistance to those behind in their mortgage payments, Trinity has the knowledge and resources to make a difference. https://trinitycredit.org Interview Quotes: “When Jesus says. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant,’ He didn’t say ‘perfect servant.’ He said ‘good.’ ‘Your heart was good. Your heart was in the right place. You walked with Me and were faithful to the little things, faithful to proclaim Me.’” - Kathie Lee Gifford “I would never take a role that required anything that dishonored the Lord. The Lord gives us a conscience for a reason.” - Kathie Lee Gifford “I follow Him, and I’m going to use every opportunity that comes my way to proclaim Him, because people are hurting. People are broken. People are desperate. People are hungry, not just for food. They’re hungry for life itself. They’re hungry for the truth. The only thing that has been constant in my life that never changes is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” - Kathie Lee Gifford “Our life should be a prayer constantly.” - Kathie Lee Gifford “I think religion puts us in chains, and Jesus came to get us out of the chains. It’s all about relationship, not religion, and I think we’ve really lost touch with that in Western Christianity.” - Kathie Lee Gifford “I’ve always had to go back to different habits at different times to make sure that I don’t associate how I feel with who I am.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “Hope is not a personality trait. People can feel like they need to have a huge amount of hope. It just takes that mustard seed—a tiny, tiny, tiny, little piece of hope is enough to carry you through.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “Habits of hope are an emotional framework to help us with those perspective shifts so we can interrupt harmful thought patterns.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “We’re going to have to get a lot stronger in our ability to emotionally risk so that we can deepen our relationships, not just with other people, but in our faith and with ourselves.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “We can reshape our thought patterns by constantly interrupting them and building these little tiny practices of hope, these emotional practices.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “The more we learn language around identifying what support would look like or feel like, the more we can get in the emotional habit of receiving that support. But it starts with us identifying what it is, who it is, and what we need from those people—our support pillars—so that we can receive hope.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “Being honest has helped me heal because you can’t have hope without honesty.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “Keep coming back to that place that aligns you with God’s call on your life. Even if the external things around you don’t make sense and it feels chaotic inside, just keep coming back, keep aligning back to the voice that you know is real and true.” - Dr. Julia Garcia “If we can just take a moment to receive the truth that we are not alone, that we are enough, then that is a building place for us to help navigate out of that feeling of feeling stuck or overwhelmed. It’s to replace these feelings with truth, with identity statements, reminding us who we are. We are not alone and we are made perfect in His image.” - Dr. Julia Garcia ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7 Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY ________________________ Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Two of the most prominent fantasy series have very different views of cosmology and spiritual power. Why is that? What is it about what the authors believe that gives rise to these different ways of looking at the world? Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

The Third Sunday in Lent.Water runs like a hidden current through this week's scriptures as Fr. John explores the surprising spiritual model we find in the Samaritan woman. While overlooked in much of Western Christianity, she becomes one of the first evangelists in the Gospel of John. Her story reminds us of a paradox of faith: the things that give us status in the world can sometimes make it harder to receive the grace of God.

Karl Ihfe opens his sermon with references to the movie Jaws and the dramatic Thai cave rescue to illustrate his central theme: God's rescue operation requires "a bigger boat" because it encompasses far more than individual salvation. Using Exodus 3 as his foundation, Ihfe demonstrates how God heard the collective cries of the Israelites in Egypt and came down to rescue them as a people, not just select individuals. He emphasizes the communal language throughout Scripture, noting how God says "my people" and uses plural pronouns when describing His rescue mission. Ihfe argues that Western Christianity has become too individualistic, focusing primarily on personal salvation and private relationships with God, while missing the broader communal aspect of God's rescue plan. He points to Jesus' teaching of the Lord's Prayer with "our Father" and "give us our daily bread" as evidence of this communal focus. The sermon connects the Exodus story to Christ's mission, explaining how Jesus came not just for individuals but for the whole world, as stated in John 3:16. Ihfe concludes by challenging the congregation to ask not only "God, rescue me" but "God, rescue us" - addressing collective bondage in their church, community, and culture, including issues of poverty, injustice, racism, and division. https://bwaychurch.org  

This is a re-edited broadcast of a conversation with Dr. Michael Rhodes from 2024. Is it possible that Western Christianity and modern American life is shaping us to become people who are NOT good at doing justice, and loving mercy, and showing kindness? We know of such concepts but do we embody such concepts in the world around us? This week kicks off a several week conversation with scholars about different aspects of discipleship. We start today with a fellow Old Testament scholar, Dr. Michael Rhodes. He is a professor in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College in Aukland, New Zealand. He is the author of Formative Feasting and Practicing the King's Economy.  We start with the impetus for his new book Just Discipleship, which you can find HERE.   What is biblical justice? Is it different from other forms of justice?  Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place. Learn more about me and sign up for upcoming tours of Israel/Palestine. Join Cyndi Parker's  Patreon Team!

In this short bonus episode of Tent Talk, Nancy speaks candidly about one of the greatest dangers facing the House of God today: the mixture of philosophies, self-help, moralism, and cultural beliefs that have quietly displaced the Word of God as final authority. She addresses the rise of “moralistic therapeutic deism” within Western Christianity—a form of faith that reduces God to a helper or cheerleader, treats sin as weakness instead of rebellion, and reshapes discipleship into behavior management rather than crucifixion and resurrection life. With clarity and urgency, Nancy calls listeners to examine their true worldview by answering one central question: What do you believe about Jesus Christ? This episode is a sober yet hope-filled reminder that God is purifying His house. As mixture is exposed and structures built on man begin to crumble, the Father is moving toward what He has always desired—a house He alone builds, grounded in exclusive allegiance to Christ. Nancy urges believers not to be swept up in the cultural flood, but to embrace the judgment of the cross, agree with God about sin beginning with themselves, and allow the formation of Christ within. In this decisive hour, the call is clear: reject mixture, return to Him, and finish the course for the Father's glory. Thanks for Listening! Nancy McCready Ministries is committed to building cultures of personal and corporate discipleship so that believers can walk in maturity and their destiny with the Father. We hope this conversation today has helped you along your journey. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Every journey begins with a conversation, so we would like to invite you to join us on social media to get started! Facebook: www.facebook.com/nbmccready Instagram: www.instagram.com/nbmccready/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@nancymccreadyministries LINKS Want to host or attend Cross Encounter? Click here: nancymccready.com/crossencounter/ Shop to Support NMM: nancymccready.com/shop/

This is part 2 of 3 talks by Dr. Nathan Jacobs about the "nones", the religiously unaffiliated, a group that has grown dramatically over the past two decades. In this talk, Nathan Jacobs argues that many who leave are not rejecting God, per se, but a particular vision of God shaped by Western theological developments. Exploring themes like grace, freedom, divine goodness, fatalism, and anthropology, he contrasts key Western trajectories with the vision of the Eastern Church Fathers. The result is a compelling case that Orthodoxy does not suppress the moral and spiritual intuitions of today's seekers — it fulfills them.Watch part 1: The Modern Religious Debate Lost Its Audience: https://youtu.be/vun_XtxDt5E Contribute to the East West Lecture Series fundraiser: http://theeastwestseries.com/Do you want to watch the Becoming Truly Human documentary? Watch it along with other exclusive content on Jacobs Premium. Use code: LEWIS to get a discount: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/Timestamps:00:00 - Coming up next01:28 - East West series02:36 - Introduction05:18 - What the nones believe10:39 - Rejecting Western Christianity14:12 - Augustine18:40 - The nature/Grace divide25:42 - Protestantism & predestination31:48 - God's will39:36 - Competing goods46:17 - Our world is spiritual59:02 - Return to talk59:51 - Man as microcosm01:01:51 - Was man made mortal or immortal?01:06:11 - Energies01:15:02 - What happens after death01:18:06 - The remedy for divine hiddenness01:24:34 - Q&A: On trusting your intuitions about God01:29:21 - Q: Anxiety of the participants01:30:58 - Q: What about Jesus?01:33:11 - Q: Discussions about the Trinity01:36:07 - Q: Using the halo in the documentary01:40:06 - Q: Do nones go to other religions?======================================All the links:The Theological Letters Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastX: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobsListen and please review the podcast elsewhere:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Persecution is rising globally—but so is the Church. In this compelling episode, Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors U.S., reveals what Christians around the world are facing today and how God is powerfully moving in the midst of suffering. Learn why persecuted believers don't ask for persecution to end—but instead ask for prayer to remain faithful to Jesus. Their courage exposes the comforts that can quietly weaken Western faith. Be encouraged, challenged, and equipped to join God's mission through prayer and solidarity with the global church.

What if one of the most neglected spiritual practices in Western Christianity is actually one of the most powerful? Do you want to experience real spiritual change in your life? Do you long to see revival? In this message from Matthew 4–6, Pastor Jake explores the power of fasting—what it is, what it does, and how to practice it.  If you're ready to grow closer to God, overcome sin, and see revival begin in your own life, this message will challenge and encourage you to take your next step.   Text: Matthew 6:16–18 Speaker: Jake Wright

From childhood loyalties in a stadium to the quiet ache of rejection, we are wired to ask: Where do I fit? Jake traces that longing through neuroscience, ancient confession, and the waters of baptism, revealing a God who steps into line with humanity. Fully human. Standing among sinners. Sharing the table. Bearing death itself. In Christ, belonging becomes union. Water, table, body, way. “I'm with them,” he says. The question is, are you with him?Discussion Questions:-In what ways have you chosen belonging over truth in your life, and how can identifying with Christ help you navigate that tension?-Why do you think Western Christianity has emphasized individualistic faith over communal belonging, and what are the consequences of that emphasis?-How does viewing baptism as identification rather than just a symbol change your perspective on this practice and its importance?-What barriers prevent you from fully committing to the body of Christ with the same loyalty you show your biological family?

In this episode, we explore the life of Tertullian, a brilliant lawyer from ancient Carthage who became a fierce defender of Christianity. We learn how his intense faith and advocacy were shaped by the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity, leading him to coin foundational theological terms while also showcasing his uncompromising and controversial nature.Chapters00:00 Carthage and Tertullian's Early Life01:18 From Pagan to Christian Apologist03:42 The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity08:20 The Blood of Martyrs and Theological Innovations11:32 Tertullian's Fierce Defenses and Controversies15:07 Strictness and Lasting Legacy

Widely revered across the spectrum of Western Christianity—including by Catholics, Protestants, and Anglicans—Saint Augustine (354-430) is one of the most influential Church Fathers and theologians. 5 Minutes in Church History podcast at https://amzn.to/3BoedCq Saint Augustine books available at https://amzn.to/3ZpyqQT Saint Monica books at https://amzn.to/4rDEHof Saint Ambrose books at https://amzn.to/3MrUI1w ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Saint of The Day Podcast: St. Augustine, 28aug2024; 5 Minutes in Church History: Augustine: Why? Jan. 6, 2021; Saint of The Day podcast with Mike Roberts, Augustin, 28aug2024. Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Text of Readings The Saint of the day is Saint Colette Saint Colette's Story Saint Colette did not seek the limelight, but in doing God's will she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Colette was born in Corbie, France. At 21, she began to follow the Third Order Rule and became an anchoress, a woman walled into a room whose only opening was a window into a church. After four years of prayer and penance in this cell, she left it. With the approval and encouragement of the pope, she joined the Poor Clares and reintroduced the primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she established. Her sisters were known for their poverty—they rejected any fixed income—and for their perpetual fast. Colette's reform movement spread to other countries and is still thriving today. Colette was canonized in 1807. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on March 6. Reflection Colette began her reform during the time of the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) when three men claimed to be pope and thus divided Western Christianity. The 15th century in general was a very difficult one for the Western Church. Abuses long neglected cost the Church dearly in the following century. Colette's reform indicated the entire Church's need to follow Christ more closely.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Reformation always precedes revival. Our conversation today is designed to help us seek a ‘reformation’ within our culture of what Christianity actually is—namely, that Jesus’ message is one of love and not division and that the Church an institution that protects and doesn’t harm. Sean Nolan will translate theology into eveyday language, illuminating afresh and anew the classic Gospel message as the antidote to the identity crises plaguing modern Western Christianity.Become a Parshall Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/inthemarket/partnersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daily Dose of Hope January 20, 2026   Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1   Prayer:  Holy God, We come before you today distracted and with scattered thoughts.  Help us focus, Lord, on you and your Word.  Help us, in the next few moments, to be silent, still, and remember that you are God...Thank you, Lord, for your care and concern for our lives.  Thank you for how you show up in amazing and unexpected ways!  We give you glory, Lord Jesus.  In Your Name, Amen. Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We have been journeying through Paul's letters, and have now completed Galatians and I Thessalonians.  Today, we start 2 Thessalonians. Similar to 1 Thessalonians, this letter is also written by Paul, Timothy, and Silas, but scholars consider Paul to be the primary author.  The letter opens in a similar manner as I Thessalonians, with Paul giving thanks for the Thessalonian church.  He is especially grateful for how their faith and love for one another has grown despite persecution.  He even says that he boasts about how they have persevered in the midst of such difficulty.  He doesn't give specifics about the persecution, but we can guess it was hostility directed at Christians by both gentile nonbelievers and Jews. Chapter 1 helps us begin to understand Paul's theology on the suffering of believers.  First, he alludes to the fact that faithful endurance, perseverance in the face of struggle, makes them very worthy of the Kingdom of God.  Certainly, endurance of hardship and persecution was seen as a virtue in early Christianity.  What a change a couple thousand years make!  At least in Western Christianity, we tend to balk at any kind of discomfort and certainly try to avoid suffering at all costs.  But their suffering does NOT mean that God isn't with them.  Paul states that God's judgment is right.  Temporary suffering doesn't indicate God's rejection; it may be character building or redeemed in some other way.  God won't waste their experience but use it to grow them and the Kingdom.  After all, that's what it's all about.  The second element in today's chapter is the concept of God's justice.  God is all about just outcomes.  He doesn't operate in a willy-nilly fashion but is fair and consistent.  According to Paul, God considers it just to punish those who persecute the Thessalonians.  This might be surprising to some, as we always focus on God's love.  Yes, God is loving but God is also fair.  Throughout Scripture, we read about God's righteous judgment.  Knowing that God will judge others fairly frees us to simply extend love and grace and not feel the need to distribute our own judgment upon others. I'll close with Paul's words in Romans 12:19-21, Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.  On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."  Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Blessings, Pastor Vicki

The Nephilim are mysterious beings or giants in the Bible traditionally imagined as being of great size and strength with great power and authority. The Bible, including the author of the Book of Enoch and other apocryphal texts, views them as the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Most researchers and scholars attest to the Nephilim as being inherently evil with no hope for redemption. But what if that narrative is wrong?Joel returns with his groundbreaking series on Good Nephilim, this time with a thorough look at the mysterious hybrid, Saint Christopher. First, he looks at hagiographies like Jacobus de Voragine's The Golden Legend where one of the fantastic origin stories of Saint Christopher was told. He then digs into the mysteries of the Dog Star, Serius, and its canine roots connected to the Freemasonic Great White Lodge said to reside there. Lastly, Joel looks at the historical evidence of whether Saint Christopher was a Nephilim Giant as Western Christianity says or a Dog Headed hybrid like the Eastern Orthodox Church says.Merchandise: https://freetherabbits.myshopify.comBuy Me A Coffee: DonateFollow: Website | Instagram | X | FacebookWatch: YouTube | RumbleMusic: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music Films: https://merkelfilms.com Email: freetherabbitspodcast@gmail.comDistributed by: merkel.mediaIntro Music:Joel Thomas – Free The RabbitsYouTube | Spotify | Apple MusicOutro Music:Joel Thomas – Joel's PsalmYouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

In modern Western Christianity, we have a number of words that are so commonly used that the ideas they convey have become part of our culture, are rarely questioned, and, as a result, have changed our behavior in ways that are detrimental to our spiritual growth and the growth of the Kingdom.  On top of that, they are non-biblical!           This is the first of a series on words that should be banned from Christianity.  Here's the first: "Ministry."  

In the second episode, reacting to the Peterson/Jenkins conversation, Daniel honed in on how the show depicts Jesus. Jenkins gives his philosophy of art and filmmaking and how he is attempting to "take Jesus down from the stained glass." Daniel argues that Dallas is actually updating the stained glass we have put Jesus on. Watch the full conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI9X0fFEE8I Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

As a fan of Lewis, and especially in understanding the story of fairy tales, it is hard to say how important something like Narnia can be. In this episode, Daniel explores 5 reasons he sees as possible for Gerwig to fail in her adaptation of Narnia. Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

As more details are coming out regarding Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Narnia for Netflix, it continues to look like a very different story from the one Lewis told. Here, Daniel outlines more reasons to be nervous about this modern take on a classic children's tale. Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

At the start of a new series, Daniel will be exploring the work of two prolific Fantasy writers: 1. JRR Tolkien. 2. George RR Martin. Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings have had a distinct cultural impact, but they also offer a window into the worldviews of the men who wrote them. This is what Daniel wants to explore. On the surface, GOT and LOTR may look quite similar, but that's due to an inability to see. Daniel's central question: How does the philosophy of two very different men produce vastly different worlds? Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

George R.R. Martin has said that, as much as he respects Tolkien for basically creating the modern Epic Fantasy Genre, he has intentionally done things that go against his way of storytelling. Why? Because they do not fit his philosophy. With help from Inspiring Philosophy's video "The Philosophy of Tolkien," Daniel wants to go on, using Martin's own words, to further describe the distance between these two authors. Watch IP's Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeF6lomaU3I&t=449s Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-belfast-podcast/id1472441982 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1s3aaP3pUkQKBVXbsP8Y34?si=ca588a6165424c61 Instagram: @thebelfastpodcast Email: belfastpodcast@gmail.com The Belfast Podcast exists to help recapture the Christian imagination. Luke and Daniel see the trend of modernism doing no favors for a vibrant view of scripture. Our goal is to widen the field of vision for modern people reading the Bible as we grapple with its ancient context, literary beauty, and symbolic underpinnings. You may have been taught to read texts with an eye for their literary and symbolic structures in English courses in high school and/or college, but rarely is this taught to seminary students or lay Christians alike when it comes to the Bible. We want to keep this eye for symbolism, repetition, and structure as we investigate the Biblical canon, linking it to modern and old examples that are extemporaneous yet connected to aid in giving the broader field of vision mentioned earlier. Come along with us on our journey to reread your bible for the first time. We hope that through the words of those who have come before us, we can give Western Christianity its imagination back.

That invitation is still open, but it reorders everything. Mike walks through a vision of discipleship rooted in devotion to a person, not a program. It's about living close enough to Jesus to notice how he moves, how he loves, how he leads. When formation replaces information, and practice replaces theory, ordinary lives begin to multiply into something eternal.Discussion Questions:-When you think about the early disciples who wanted to be covered in the 'dust of their rabbi,' how closely are you following Jesus in your daily rhythms and decisions?-What would 'messy obedience' look like for you this week as you step out in faith to practice one of the formational rhythms Jesus modeled?-How does the concept of 'come follow me' versus 'come balance me' challenge your current approach to discipleship and devotion to Christ?-Why do you think Western Christianity has emphasized information over formation, and how can you personally shift toward practicing what you learn rather than just hearing it?

A major thank you to Journey of Abundance for sponsoring today's stream. In this stream I dive into the intellectual historical differences between East and west Christendom to demonstrate why Orthodoxy is both superior and preserves that which was lost in the West. Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think. God Bless

Ever feel like your church calendar skips straight from Christmas cheer to Easter celebration—missing something crucial in between? You're not alone, and Lent might be the answer.Join Joshua Lewis and author Elyse Fitzpatrick to understand why Lent matters for every believer—not just the high church crowd. Elyse shares her transformative Ash Wednesday experience during the pandemic and why spending 40 days reflecting on Christ's suffering changed everything about her faith.This isn't about earning brownie points with God through religious rituals. It's about understanding that before glory comes suffering—and why Western Christianity desperately needs to recover this truth. Elyse unpacks how fasting reveals our weakness so we can rest in Christ's strength, and why biblical lament looks nothing like hopeless despair.This conversation challenges our therapeutic, comfort-obsessed culture. Discover why the church calendar isn't just liturgical tradition—it's discipleship that keeps Christ's life and work constantly before our eyes. Learn how to practice godly lament, embrace voluntary weakness, and find hope in the wilderness seasons of life.In This Episode:-Why low-church Christians should care about Lent and the church calendar-The difference between fasting for merit versus fasting for remembrance-How to practice biblical lament with resurrection hope-Why American Christianity avoids suffering and what we lose because of it-The hidden grief of Palm Sunday and burned palm branch symbolism-Balancing community service with personal solitude during Lent0:00 – Introduction3:07 – What is Lent and Why Does it Matter?8:54 – The Experience of Ash Wednesday15:12 – Jesus in the Wilderness and Voluntary Weakness27:13 – Why "Friend of Sinners"?34:42 – Understanding Healthy Christian Lament42:34 – Palm Sunday Triumph and Weeping51:03 – Closing ThoughtsABOUT THE GUEST:

What does it really mean to follow Jesus? Mark's Gospel offers a far more radical and compelling vision of discipleship than much of 21st-century Western Christianity.In today's episode, we continue our sermon series from the archives, The Gospel According to Mark, as Paul unpacks Jesus' call to His first disciples, their surprising response, and what their example means for our own walk with Christ today.To hear more sermons from Paul, visit PaulTripp.com/Sermons.

N.T. Wright returns to the podcast for round three—no Malibu rooftop this time, but plenty of theological fireworks. We dig into Tom's new book on Ephesians, starting with why he thinks the scholarly consensus dismissing Pauline authorship is more about 19th-century German liberal Protestant hangover than good historical work. From there, we get into the real meat: Ephesians isn't answering the question "how do I get to heaven?" It's painting this massive cosmic picture of God's plan to unite heaven and earth in Christ—and the church's wild vocation to be what Tom calls "a small working model of new creation." We talk about how Western Christianity has shrunk Paul's vision into individual soul-sorting when the text is way more interested in what it looks like when formerly irreconcilable people come together as one new humanity. Tom pushes back on how both conservatives and liberals read their politics into the text, and we wrestle with the marriage passage in chapter 5 as the theological climax of the letter (not the culture war flashpoint we've made it). We close with a beautiful reflection on Ephesians 6 as an Advent text—the church holding the line between Christ's victory and his return. Plus, Tom's grandson sings in the New College Oxford choir, and honestly, that's the kind of intergenerational beauty Ephesians is pointing toward. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube Prof. N.T. (Tom) Wright is Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He is one of the world's leading Bible scholars, with expertise in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, the New Testament, and Biblical Studies. He is also Emeritus Professor at the University of St. Andrews and the former Bishop of Durham. Tom's Previous Visits to the Podcast Devilpalooza NT Wright Talks Jesus and the scholars who discuss him UPCOMING ONLINE ADVENT CLASS w/ Diana Butler Bass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join us for a transformative four-week Advent journey exploring how the four gospels speak their own revolutionary word against empire—both in their ancient context under Roman occupation and for our contemporary world shaped by capitalism, militarism, and nationalism.  This course invites you into an alternative calendar and rhythm. We'll discover how these ancient texts of resistance offer wisdom for our own moment of political turmoil, economic inequality, and ecological crisis. This class is donation-based, including 0. You can sign-up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.HomebrewedClasses.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Homebrewed Christianity ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠production. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Homebrewed Christianity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theology Nerd Throwdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Rise of Bonhoeffer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 75,000 other people by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack - Process This!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get instant access to over 50 classes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.TheologyClass.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the podcast, drop a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, send ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member of the HBC Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Everything Belongs, we explore Chapter 10 of Fr. Richard Rohr's New York Times Bestselling book The Tears of Things ⁠⁠⁠⁠— rediscovering the prophet Ezekiel through Indigenous eyes.   In the second half of this episode, you'll hear from Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley. He reflects on how Western Christianity's fixation on hierarchy and domination distorts the gospel — and how Indigenous wisdom invites us back into harmony with creation.   Randy Woodley is an award-winning author and a tribally recognized Keetoowah descendant (UKB), Randy weaves together Indigenous wisdom, ecological sustainability, and spirituality. Randy is both a farmer and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He is respected by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities worldwide and has been featured in The New York Times, Politifact, Time Magazine, and The Huffington Post. Randy publishes a weekly Substack at https://rwoodley7.substack.com/ Together, the Woodley's co-sustain Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds, https://www.eloheh.org/ a non-profit, regenerative farm and school determined to assist others grow healthy food and combat the climate crisis. They are founders of Sho-Kee Cultural Consultants www.Sho-Kee.com  Resources:  Learn more about Randy here  Grab a copy of The Tears of Things ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.  To learn more about The Tears of Things and additional offerings, including the trailer, a FREE Reader's Guide, and more, visit ⁠⁠⁠thetearsofthings.com.  Find the transcript of this episode here. Connect with us: Have a question you'd like us to answer about this season? Email us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcasts@cac.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Send us a voicemail: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cac.org/voicemail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We'll be accepting questions for our Listener Questions episode until December 31st, 2025.