The Hammer Podcast

Too much is happening in the world for us not to touch on some of the current issues at hand. So we dive into the mass shooting perpetrated by a transgender individual and how the media is all over the place on this topic. Then we hit some of the new developments with COVID and the “vax.”  Then we transition to the topic of expository preaching.  What is not expository preaching? Are there differe...

In this episode we discuss the friendship John Piper and John MacArthur had despite some of their theological differences.  How does that happen and why is it a good thing? We also talk about the fact that Alister Begg prayed at John’s memorial service. Why is that a big deal?  We talk about the shared dispensational heritage both John’s share and why that is important, espically in light of the g...

We start off with a cold open about the importance of the local church. Then with great caution we talk about the events in Alaska last week, especially on Friday. Our very own Pastor Mike was on assignment in America’s last frontier.  The Alaska trip made a stop in Dallas, which leads us to the Lamar Jackson retweet of Charlie Kirk saying it’s all about Jesus. We then go through a segment of Char...

From the Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson interview to the current calls to occupy Gaza, dispensationalism has been taking a beating.  Is the beating warranted? What is the real issue being debated? Why is their growing anti-semitism among Christians within the MAGA movement?  Is dispensationalism really the evil behind the post-war consensus? Is the alliance with Israel the driving factor in the endle...

Difficult people affect all of us and can have a unique effect on pastors in the ministry. What are the positive and negative effects of negative people?   1. Why does God allow difficult people into our lives and specifically into the life of a pastor? 2. What are the different tiers or levels of difficult people? 3. Who are the most harmful among difficult people (that is harmful to the ministry...

In today’s episode we talk about MacArthur as an exegete and the importance of the Bible.  We talk about MacArthurs courage, conviction and clarity as he preached and appeared on Larry King’s show. What made him this way and why are so many not like him?  Then we dive into the origin of Platonism in the study of the Bible and its negative impact on modern theology.

This episode is a tribute to one of the greats, John MacArthur. It is not a praise of the man, rather a praise of the God this man served. God has used him to leave an indelible imprint on so many. He will be missed.   

The Cold open is from the great S. Lewis Johnson talking about the New Covenant (NC).    Let’s consider what Jeremiah says about the NC:  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egy...

A lot has happened since the last podcast: bombs in Iran, leaked report, and now a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. We start the cold open with Trump’s report from the NATO summit.  We play an AI clip of Trump and then discuss the need for Christians to be diligent in how they gain and assess information from the internet. Following that, we turn to how Christians should process what is happenin...

Part 1  The world is on a knives edge, what is going on with Israel and Iran? How should Christians think about this? Is long term war a good option for America?  Part 2 We dive into the sheep & goats judgement at the end of the Olivet Discourse. What principles should we take from this and how has it been misunderstood?  What about annihilationism? Is hell eternal? Why is that doctrine so emo...

N.T. Wright strikes again! What is the problem with his lack of clarity on the murder of our children (abortion)? How does this lack of clarity seep into other areas of life? Why does it happen?  What is the problem with the lack of clarity in scholarship and in the pulpit? What is the effect it can has on the sheep and particularly our children? Article https://christoverall.com/article/concise/i...

In this episode we discuss the cultural swing happening in Christianity from “soy boys” to Andrew Tate. Why has the biblical view of true masculinity been abandoned on both sides? What does true masculinity look like and how do we cultivate that in our young men?  How does the doctrine of Christ’s Imminent return impact our view of Matthew 24 and 25? What impact does it have on eschatology? Why ev...

What were Jesus‘s last words about the kingdom before his ascension? How can we better understand the hermeneutics of the apostles as they ask and then find the answer to this question?   Their question in Acts 1, and Jesus’ teaching about his second coming in Matthew 24 are very much connected. What is there relationship?  How does the amillennialist and the postmilliennialist take this passage?...

We discuss the cultural similarities protestants have with Catholics, yet the stark doctrinal differences. In light of this, should we respect the position pope?  Turning to the Olivet discourse, the timing markers in Matthew 24:29-31 seem pretty clear. How do the preterists take this passage? Would the modern Post Millennialist take the same view?  There are a variety of different ways people tak...

Wow, the cold open was wild. Is that the way we are suppose to understand the Bible? What is “newspaper exegesis?” What are the challenges in studying the olivet discourse? What are the challenges to preaching the olivet discourse? What is the difference between seminary classes and preaching? Why is understanding this difference important? What are the dangers of forcing your theology onto the te...

On this episode we discuss the three major pitfalls to avoid with the Olivet discourse and why they are problematic: 1. All past. 2. All future. 3. Not literal. What makes it hard to interpret this portion of scripture precisely? 1. The morphing of sections and timing together. 2. What questions were the disciples asking and how and why did Jesus answer the way he did? Finally, we talk about the i...

On this episode we discuss the death of the pope, (and yes, we purposely did not capitalize the P in pope!) and his liberal legacy. What has been his impact on society and how should Christians think about this? Then we turn our attention to how the covenants connect to the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24-25. We discuss some of the different views and what our plan for the next series is going to b...

In this episode we take a break from the covenants and do an Easter special! First we get a health update from a special guest.  Then we answer 5 questions:  1 What is the importance of the resurrection? 2 How was the resurrection anticipated in the Old Testament? 3 How was Jesus “the first fruits of the resurrection” if Lazarus was raised first?  4 What about the saints who were raised in Matthew...

The 100th episode! We start off praising the Lord and discussing the impact President Trump has had on the release of the Hamas hostages. Today, we tie the conditionality and unconditionality of the biblical covenants to our own salvation. Before we dive into that, we discuss the 8 biblical covenants and if they are conditional or unconditional. Why are the covenants important and how do they help...

Is Ligon Duncan correct on the conditionality of the Abrahamic Covenant? We explain the confusion some have between Genesis 15 and Genesis 17, and then go into how a faithful expositor of the Bible should understand their relationship. We go through 10 exegetical (from the text) reasons that the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional; and we discuss some of the differences between Classic Covenantali...

With the new laws on the books in Texas an abortion Dr. Has now been arrested. How should Christians think about this? Does the principle of captial punish apply? In the second part of the episode we turn our attention to Biblical Covenants. What covenants are in the Bible? What is the difference between conditional and unconditional covenants in the Bible? Why do they matter? Tune in today!

Due to sickness, Ryan was banned from the Hammer head quarters. Eventually, he was usher out by security, but thankfully someone did post bail for him! We did a special edition on a devotion about David’s life. Why is the story about Uzzah dying when he touches the Ark of the Covenant important? How does God’s judgement on innovation in the life of Uzzah translate to our day? Tune in today!

Friends, it is true, this week’s episode has N.T. Wright on the hammer podcast. We going through one of his recent episodes (4 months ago) of Ask NT Wright Anything, in collaboration with Premier Unbelievable? YouTube channel. The title of their episode was: Does modern Israel play a role in End Times? Let’s just say it gets very interesting! From the “go to Heaven” theology to pro-Palestians righ...

Wow, what a cold open, very interesting google search results in the DC area! Today we want to talk about how believers ought to think about and what our attitude should be toward the modern state of Israel.  Is the modern state of Israel part of Bible prophecy? Let’s review Ezekiel 22, it is very germane to the discussion of whether or not the modern state of Israel has any biblical significance....

Scott Turner, opens the podcast and the first cabinet meeting with prayer in the name of Jesus. What an exciting time to be alive. In this episode we get into some lesser known history about Israel prior to 1948. Were the British friend or foe during this time? What is the history of Zionism as things move toward 1948? What is the Balfour Declaration? What impact did the Muslims have on the west d...