Adding To Your Faith

Just as things look hopeless, the dawn is coming. In Daniel 6:19-28, the anxious king comes to the lion’s den yearning to know if Daniel’s God is able to save. In this episode, Matt and Rachael apply the narrative model of Bible study to see how the Living God saved Daniel... and can save you too. Click here for week five homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete day SIX homework (Daniel 6:19-2...

Many of us have heard the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. But just because a story is familiar doesn’t mean we can’t see new things about God’s glory. In this episode, Rachael and Matt use the narratives model of Bible study to dive deeper into Danie 6:1-18... and discover the Gospel in this ancient story. Click here for week five homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete day FIVE homework...

A disembodied hand brings a raucous party to an abrupt stop and foretells the end of an empire. In Daniel 5, King Nebuchadnezzar’s son has taken the throne and mocks the God of Judah to his destruction. In this episode, Rachael and Matt apply the narratives model of Bible study to understand one crazy night that points us all to the urgency of eternity. Click here for week five homework sheet BEFO...

King Nebuchadnezzar can't say he wasn't warned. A year after Daniel interpreted his foreboding dream and called him to repentance, the king can be found walking on his roof, declaring his own greatness, when... God interrupts. In this episode, Rachael and Matt use narrative Bible study to follow a mad king's journey back to God and back to his senses. Click here for week five homewo...

Don't you just love a good flashback sequence? In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar looks back at his foolish ways with the benefit of hindsight... and it's another dream in need of interpretation. In this episode, Rachael and Matt apply the narratives model of Bible Study to find a king learning who is really in charge - and praising the one true God for it! Click here for week five homewor...

God's faithful followers refuse to worship the King's new 90-foot-tall image and courageously face the fiery furnace, fully trusting in their faithful God. The men know God is able to save them, but whether He chooses to save them or not, they will only worship the one true God. In this episode, Matt and Rachael use six narrative elements to dive deeper into God's word to uncover ti...

Storytellers and story lovers, this method is for you! Using a narrative model to examine the characters, setting, plot, conflict, and theme can help see familiar Bible stories through fresh eyes. In this episode, Rachael and Matt explain how to use this fourth and final study method to draw deeper into God's word and nearer to His heart.  Click here for week five homework sheet AFTER this ep...

Jesus often taught by use of parables, and in Luke 19, he has a powerful parable message about stewardship and accountability to a mighty king. In this episode, Rachael and Matt return to the New Testament for our sixth and final day using the Gospel Threads method of study. Click Here for week four homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete day SIX homework (Luke 19:11-27) Congratulations! You&...

As long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper... But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. As a sixteen-year-old king, Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He was a faithful steward of all that was intrusted to him. Later, his mindset changed. He began to act as if he owned what had been entrusted to him by God.  In this episode, Matt and Rachael explore the th...

After 40 years in in exile, caring for sheep, a burning bush catches the attention of Moses. God has a big assignment for Moses. And Moses has some questions. In this episode, Rachael and Matt explore early threads of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - planted deep in the early days of the Old Testament. Click Here for week four homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete day FOUR homework (Exodus 3:1-...

The seeds of the Great Commission are sowed in Luke 10. As Jesus sends out his disciples out "in the midst of wolves," we learn that some will receive them, while others will not. In this episode, Rachael and Matt apply the "Gospel Threads" Bible study method to explore God's character, the urgency of eternity, and what it means to hear or reject the messengers of Christ. ...

Demons begging for mercy. Suicidal Pigs. A life forever changed and charged with sharing the good news. It was no ordinary day when Jesus and his disciples sail to Gerasenes. In this episode Rachael and Matt examine a dramatic story of demon possession, deliverance, and testimony through the lens of the Gospel.  Click Here for week four homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete day TWO homework...

We are God's workmanship . Think of the beauty and the purpose in that one simple word: workmanship . The implications cannot be overstated for those who are "in Christ." In our first day using the "Gospel Threads" Bible study method, Matt and Rachael revisit this familiar passage in Ephesians that we explored last week using the "From their home to our home" met...

The entire Bible - From Genesis to Revelation - tells one grand, glorious story: the story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Learning to think intentionally about the core truths of the Gospel can give us a greater appreciation for and relationship to God's word. In this episode, Rachael and Matt introduce Bible study method #3: Gospel Threads. Learn how viewing God's word through the lens...

With all our divisions demolished by the Gospel, it's time to start a grand new building project: A holy temple. But this temple isn't made of stone and mortar. Its materials are the redeemed. Its foundation is the apostles and prophets. And its cornerstone is Christ. In this episode, Rachael and Matt walk alongside you in this sixth and final day of workshopping the "From Their Hom...

Bitterness. Hate. Hostility. The divide before Christ between the "circumcised" and the "uncircumcised" could not have been more volatile. Then, something miraculous happened: The Gospel came to both, and hostility turned to peace. In this episode, Matt and Rachael use the "From Their Home to Our Home" Bible study method to explore how we should walk, in light of a Go...

The Bible says we were "dead" in our trespasses and sins... so what should we do now that we've been made alive in Christ? In this episode, Rachael and Matt use the "From Their Home to Our Home" Bible study method to unpack Ephesians 2:1-10 to learn what it means to be God's "workmanship." A glorious plan of good works awaits us, as we walk humbly and thankf...

Do you yearn to pray bigger prayers? Thank God for your brothers and sisters in Christ, and watch as those prayers inevitably lead to you to praise God for His immeasurable greatness. That's how Paul describes his own prayer life in Ephesians 1:15-23. In this episode, Rachael and Matt continue using the "From Their Home to Our Home" study method to further explore Ephesians. in the...

What if your salvation isn't actually about you? Because of God's grace, we are the matchless beneficiaries of salvation. But the purpose of our salvation is all about the Glory of God. In this episode, Rachael and Matt use this week's study method to explore Ephesians, unlocking a life of gratitude, surrender, and a posture of worship that brings eternal fulfillment and reward. Cli...

What a privilege to be chosen and redeemed. Nothing reveals the glory of God more beautifully than a saved sinner surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus. In this episode, Rachael and Matt start in Ephesians to demonstrate the second method in their "How to Study the Bible" series: "From Their Home to Our Home." Walk with them through a radically different time, place, and context...

How would you prepare yourself to visit a completely different culture in a completely different part of the world? How would you observe and understand their ways? How would you relate their lived experiences to more universal realities and truths? How might you be permanently changed by the experience? These are the questions and concepts behind our next Bible study method that Matt and Rachael...

What must Jonah have pondered from inside the belly of the great fish? When he didn't know what to do... he did what he knew to do: Jonah prayed. In this episode, Rachael and Matt share questions and statements to consider about Jonah's state of mind during the dark three days, what might have occupied his prayer's in this desperate moment, and how God provided for Jonah in most unu...

When he was thrown overboard, Jonah most certainly must have expected to die. Instead, God rescued him in a most unusual and most unexpected way. In this episode, Rachael and Matt share questions about Jonah and a great fish, while discussing observations about God's dramatic and unexpected intervention. Click Here for week two homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete DAY FIVE Homework (J...

Confronted with a seemingly impossible choice, the sailors look in vain for another way. But when they finally surrender to God's direction, the storm calms. In today's episode, Matt and Rachael offer observations about the the futility of seeking our own way, and questions about sacrifices and vows. Click Here for week two homework sheet BEFORE this episode: Complete DAY FOUR Homework (...

The sailors confront Jonah and are terrified by the power of the God he serves. As the storm rages on and intensifies, Jonah offers his shipmates an unthinkable escape from their predicament.  In today's episode, Matt and Rachael offer observations about the the condition of the sailors' hearts and questions about Jonah's offer. Click Here for week two homework sheet BEFORE this epi...