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  • The Journey to Paul’s Imprisonment in Rome & the setting & background of Philippians

    The Journey to Paul’s Imprisonment in Rome & the setting & background of Philippians
    2026/08/18
    In this episode, we begin an expository journey through Paul's letter to the Philippians. First off, though, I’m going to share with you two important habits you need for reading and studying Scripture, as well as talk about two very important principles for interpreting Scripture that you will experience in use today. So, let me ask you this: What is your real source of Joy? What is it that really makes you feel blessed? When I used to answer this question, I would typically answer it with a response that went something like this: “Well, Jesus is my rock, my source of strength, and He is what gives me joy.” I believe that I knew that this was the right thing to say. It’s what I knew I should say, but in reality, this was not really true of me at all, and my life often demonstrated that to be true. In fact, my joy came not from Him, but from something more closely associated with my circumstances. Now, to be fair, it wasn’t that I had a devious side to me that plotted wickedness, while at the same time attempting to hang on to God; Instead, I wanted to serve Him, “we” just needed to do it my way. By this I mean, I needed certain things to be just so before I could truly know that He had me. Further confirmation of this attitude came when I considered the instances in life where I was most content, most happy, and what provided me with that contentment; it was not Christ; instead, it was usually some kind of circumstance that worked out for me. Too often this gets exposed when the circumstances providing us joy in life go in an undesirable direction. The response, too often for me, was one of uncertainty, doubt, and eventual frustration and anger. In verse 1 of Philippians, Paul refers to himself and Timothy, servants or slaves of Christ, but he does not have the same idea of slavery in mind that we probably do here in the 21st century. He also doesn’t see being a slave of Christ in any kind of negative light either; rather, to him, it’s a privilege. But wait, at the time of this letter's writing, Paul has been incarcerated, unjustly and for more than 5 years— yet his attitude is one of continual hope in the mission Christ has placed Him on— How can this be real? Moreover, how can we genuinely have this kind of hope in Christ, and not our circumstances? In this episode, we’ll let Scripture help us understand what shapes Paul’s message in Philippians by understanding more of the context, specifically what amounts to the historical narrative of Paul’s imprisonment journey from Jerusalem to Rome in Acts 21-24. The letter of Philippians provides us with real, objective wisdom for finding true joy in this life. It doesn’t start, though, with how we feel, and it doesn’t give a program or method for changing our place or station in life to accomplish said joy. Rather, it provides us with a perspective, insight into an attitude, and specific wisdom all from Paul, on how we too can rejoice no matter the circumstance.
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    40 分
  • Being a Student of the Bible: Why Every Christian Needs to Know How to Properly Intepret Scripture

    Being a Student of the Bible: Why Every Christian Needs to Know How to Properly Intepret Scripture
    2026/08/05

    You hear the expression — “Now more than ever” all the time, and a lot of people use it in an almost hyperbolic or even melodramatic way, hoping to capture your attention and make you consider something that must be addressed immediately —

    Well, I suppose I'm doing a bit of the same, but it is indeed not a hyperbolic statement to say that, “Now more than ever, we as disciples of Christ must know what Scripture actually says.” Which is to say, we need to know how to read, study, and interpret Scripture accurately and discerningly.

    In this episode, I’m going to talk about why learning how to intepret and find meaning in Scripture is not only possible, but absolutely necessary for every disciple of Christ to know how to practice. — you and I need to be practitioners of good interpretation.

    I’m going to give you several important reasons why learning to be a good practitioner of biblical interpretation is important; so much so that this fall I’m going to be introducing a new and totally free course on being a student of the Word of God, which will have a special focus on biblical interpretation.

    So join me today as we talk about this important subject— let’s go.
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    52 分
  • Updates, My Dad’s Health and a Biblical Perspective on Dying

    Updates, My Dad’s Health and a Biblical Perspective on Dying
    2026/07/29
    Indeed, it’s been a few weeks since the last episode—but alas, a new one is here. In this episode, I share some updates on things I’m working on for both the website and the podcast. I also share some updates on where my father is health-wise. And lastly, I share one biblical perspective I have on facing the loss of my father. Dying isn’t something that typically comes up in casual conversations. Instead, it is usually forced on us. But the subject of death shouldn’t be one that we fear; rather, we should, like the Apostle Paul, cultivate a relationship with biblical truth to the point that we are able to think as He does in Philippians 1:21 — “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I know that you’ve probably heard this verse a million times before, but for some reason, it doesn’t always seem real, especially when you're hurting. How does a person practically maintain this kind of attitude? How do we remain hopeful and find courage to face the inevitability of an impending death? We’ll talk about what we learn from Paul that should be the foundation for our ability to rejoice in Christ no matter the circumstances.
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    38 分
  • The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 5 -- 2 Timothy 3:16b

    The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 5 -- 2 Timothy 3:16b
    2026/06/09

    We know that the purpose of Scripture then can be summed up like this: it shapes our beliefs (instruction), exposes our sin and condemnation (conviction), guides us towards repentance (correction), and cultivates within us Christlike obedience (training).

    In this lesson, we are going to break down these 4 specific things and what they mean for us.

    This lesson will be a word study of sorts in the original Greek to help us gain better clarity about how practical and “profitable” God’s Word should be in our lives.
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    41 分
  • The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 4 -- 2 Timothy 3:16a

    The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 4 -- 2 Timothy 3:16a
    2026/06/09

    Let’s continue our examination of the importance of Scripture in the life of the believer— Committing to Scripture Alone in this 4th lesson in what has become a series where we are addressing the essential preeminence of Scripture in the life of the believer.

    We know that too often, when we find a place of comfort or normalcy, we also become complacent, forgetful, and even careless and conceited.

    And sadly, as believers in Christ, we lose our way, even forgetting the very power and impact the Scriptures have had in our lives.

    Let's consider this question here—

    If the Scriptures are not the final, infallible Word of God, if some group or organization declared itself the final curator of what is God-breathed truth and what is not, what would be our basis for practicing the Christ life?

    Would faith in the person of Jesus Christ be the same? Or would it have evolved to include hundreds of add-ons?

    Without Scripture, indeed, this, and many other things would happen that would totally destroy the gospel message, which is why the Word of God is always under attack.

    Thankfully, as followers of Christ, we have access to the Word and the ability to understand it.

    In this lesson, we are going to set the stage for understanding Paul's instructions to Timothy about how God’s Word is specifically “profitable” in the life of the beleiver.
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    49 分
  • The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 3 -- the Reformations Impact

    The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 3 -- the Reformations Impact
    2026/05/27
    We learn from history what happens when the Scriptures are not the final authority on matters of life and godliness and what happens when people start “speaking on behalf of God.” It gets more than ugly, messy, and even deadly—really fast. Before the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, the Scriptures, that is, the Bible, and, for that matter, all biblical truth, were effectively controlled by the institutional church. Eventually, the Protestant Reformation brought to the surface the fundamental issue that allowed for this kind of institutional control... moreover, the Reformation would change how you and I now relate, value, even read, and study the Scriptures today—That fundamental issue is one that we need to look at again, it is the question involving the authority of Scripture. In the 16th century, there were two basic positions regarding Scriptural authority: the established position, which was held by the institutional church, said that Scripture, along with the magisterium (the official teaching authority and office of the Roman Catholic Church) and formal traditions collectively are the final, infallible authority for matters of life, faith, and practice; The Reformers, who held a powerfully opposing position, believed simply that that the Scriptures and nothing else, are the infallible final authority on matters of life, faith, and practice. This issue would serve as a clarion call for the church to, rethink and reform its positions, in light of Scripture alone. Can you imagine living without having access to the Bible? I can't, in fact, the Bible has been part of my life as long as I can remember. But, this reality is exactly what the world at this time faced. Thankfully, God in His providence raised up a group of people who would ultimately challenge the institutional church's control over Scripture and, because of their sacrifice, eventually usher in an era that would see a resurgence of Biblical truth, and a deeper love and appreciation for the Word of God. Sola Scriptura—This Latin phrase, which didn’t appear until the 20th century, came to define the core idea held by all the reformers—Scripture Alone—the final and infallible authority on matters of life and godliness. While few in our Christian communities challenge this theses now, it is important for us to do more than just agree with it; in fact, we need to realize that we have a natural tendency to allow ourselves to be influenced, even controlled by other people and their extra-biblical origins, just like residents of the middle ages. Today, we will dig more into this history, our tendency to lean away from scripture and we'll explore the meaning of what Peter means in 2 Peter 1:3— when he says, “We have everything necessary for life and godliness through a knowledge of Him.”
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    45 分
  • The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 2 -- Intro to 2 Timothy

    The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 2 -- Intro to 2 Timothy
    2026/05/12
    The apostle Paul considered Timothy his “son in the faith” (2 Timothy 1:2) This is likely because Timothy came to faith in Jesus Christ through Paul’s ministry and, because over their many years of shared ministry experience, including enduring numerous hardships and suffering together, an inseparable, even familial bond had no doubt formed between the two of them. Now, in what is to be the final months of his life, Paul writes a deeply personal second letter (2 Timothy) to his young protege. And central to this letter will be numerous admonitions, exhortations, and even direct charges to Timothy about how he must defend and preach the truth of Scripture in word and deed. Paul’s words are not only intended for Timothy, but they are for all believers—you and me. This letter will provide us with a clear statement about the intended purpose of Scripture 2 Timothy 3:16-17— [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. We learn from this epistle that Paul saw having an uncompromising devotion to Biblical truth as the only way Timothy would navigate the growing drift away from the true Way found in Jesus Christ, that taking place in the church in Ephesus, Timothy was pastor of at the time. It is no different today either. The abundance of opposition to biblical truth from secular society, the temptation to compromise in the face of hardship and suffering, or the fear of abandonment and rejection for total surrender to biblical truth are everywhere around us—and are the same as what Timothy faced in his day. The result for us, as in his day is that many begin embracing a shallow, almost worthless form of Christianity, one they neither practice nor truly believe. Eventually, many find themselves living in opposition to the Word of God, some without even realizing it. This raises several questions: Why do people embrace such a shallow Christian faith? Why do some drift so far away from Christ and even reject the Word of God? Are they misled, lied to or just poorly taught? In this episode, we’ll begin to answer these questions as we explore what Paul’s second letter to Timothy teaches believers about remaining faithful to Scripture in a world full of competing ideas. As you listen, do this: consider what is the source, or where to your ideas that influence or shape your worldview come from ultimately. Ask yourself this, - “Is it Scripture and Scripture alone, or is it ‘mostly' Scripture and...?” This is part 1 of a 2-part episode study on 2 Timothy. In part 2, we will look specifically at the Apostle Paul's exhortation for how —óphelimos— or profitable, beneficial, and useful — the inspired Word of God is for making us mature in Christ. —2 Timothy 3:16-17 This week prior to episode 3 take some time to read 2 Timothy a few times and get familiar with Pauls letter to Timothy.

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    52 分
  • The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 1 - Romans 12:1-2

    The Indispensability of Scripture in the Life of the Believer – Part 1 - Romans 12:1-2
    2026/05/05

    God's grace has bestowed on us the ability to see the World, the Way (John 14:6), we were originally intended to see it. Through Jesus Christ, we're not only saved from our sinful depravity, but we're also being "set apart" for something that is altogether different. This sounds great, but why is it that I just don't have trust in Him when life turns difficult, or suffering becomes my reality?

    I fear that way too many have fallen for a counterfeit version of faith--much like myself, you too may have adopted a Christianity that satisfies some kind of impulse or 'felt need,' but the "true offering" of your mind to Him is not taking place--it's still reserved for you!

    The fact is, this reality becomes all the more obvious to us when we do encounter hardship and suffering. I've experienced this firsthand in my own life recently.

    The truth is that the biblically "renewed mind" is the only way to know, endure, and overcome suffering. It's also the only way to know and comprehend what Kingdom Living is all about.

    The Renewed Mind, in short, is the ability to think like Christ--or biblically. And in this episode, we will look at what it means to follow Jesus Christ Biblically. Paul makes this understanding clear in Romans 12:1-2.

    We will look at why, unless our minds are intentionally rewired to think like Christ, we will always conform to a standard that allows for the service of self and not Christ, and maybe, and more importantly, become victims of our own self-deception.
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    32 分