Trey VanCamp Teachings Podcast

In James 4, we learn that on some level, followers of the way of Jesus are at odds with the world we live in. While we have a responsibility to love the created world, steward our lives to make it better, and love the people in it, it’s clear that the cultural air we live in is becoming more and more hostile to the way of Jesus. From sexuality and gender to justice and violence, the world normaliz...

We live in a culture today that encourages us to satisfy any and all of our desires as we pursue our “true selves.” The only caveat the world gives us is that our desires shouldn’t hurt other people. Otherwise, those desires are good. But what if the people we really hurt in satisfying our desires is ourselves? In James 4, we learn that not all desires are good, fulfilling, or even authentic to wh...

One of the greatest dangers plaguing the church today is also one of the oldest — selfish ambition. Since the church was first established, the people of God have experienced conflict, disagreement, and division, and often times these circumstances provide an opportunity for us to become bitter, envious, and boastful. But James 3 shows us what it looks like to endure conflict well. Rather than giv...

It’s part of our human nature to play favorites. We often move towards, look up to, and speak highly of those who have wealth or achievements while also looking down to, ignoring, or withholding mercy from those who lack these things. Christians aren’t immune from this sin of favoritism, and it goes back to the very beginnings of the church. James likely witnessed his half-brother Jesus correcting...

James 1 confronts us with a painful reality: life will be hard. We’ll be persecuted, gut-punched, and exposed as we continue practicing the way of Jesus in our everyday lives. But James 1 also gives us a vision for the kind of people we can be if we endure these hardships with humility and patience. The church is at its best when we’re people who speak graciously, serve selflessly, and live holy....

When most of us think of simplicity, we think of digital minimalism, materialism, and wealth. But few of us would consider the practice of simplicity as something that involves our speech and relationships. And yet, when we examine how often we use sarcasm, exaggeration, and flattery to manipulate people and get what we want, we might be surprised to see that our speech is not simple or wholesome...

As Americans our identities are often shaped by the quantity and quality of the stuff we own. Security, stability, and satisfaction are only possible when we buy and accumulate more wealth. And while we’re really after deep contentment, we falsely believe that the very joy we’re searching for is still on the other side of the next purchase. Cue our endless cycle of buying more so we can desire les...

We live in the age of the attention economy. From social media ads and online shopping to streaming and news, our hearts and minds are often cluttered and rewired for discontentment. We live chasing accumulation, or what Jesus calls “the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things.” And for most of us, this discontentment comes directly from our digital consu...

 Let the timer begin. Revelation 1, we looked at, at the beginning of summer, we talked about how there's, just based off that one chapter, there's three ways to interpret the rest of the letter. We learned that St. John is a theologian. What that means is when you read the book of Revelation, it's more important to read it Christologically, meaning where's Christ in this passage, than it is readi...

In the 20th century, two books were written to predict our future: "A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley in 1931 and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell in 1949. Both books had different ideas about how our future could be grim. Neil Postman compared these books in his work "Amusing Ourselves to Death," where he said Orwell feared the truth would be hidden and people would be controlled by pain...

People often get excited about predicting the future or trying to figure out when the world will end, but Revelation is more about understanding what is happening in our present time. The dragon in the story wants to harm people, and he uses two other creatures to carry out his plans. One of them uses the power of the government to intimidate and control people. This can be seen in history when le...

The book of Revelation talks about judgments and the suffering of people. It reminds us not to feel superior and gives hope to persecuted Christians. The judgments are meant to soften our hearts and lead us to salvation. They come in groups of seven, like seals, trumpets, and bowls. The book also tells us about the four horsemen representing deception, tribalism, injustice, and sickness. But in th...

Revelation is a book that shows us a different way of understanding the world. It tells us that things are not always what they seem. Jesus, who is both powerful like a lion and sacrificial like a lamb, is the one who can save the world. By focusing on Jesus and His sacrificial love, we can find hope, purpose, and power in our lives.

In chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, John writes letters to seven different churches. He affirms them for what they are doing right and corrects them for what they are doing wrong. It’s like a teacher giving feedback to help them become all they were designed to be. For example, the church in Ephesus is commended for avoiding false teachings and enduring hardships, but they are told they have forgot...

No other book has been twisted or tamed more than Revelation. It’s important to remember that: As a theologian, St. John intends for us to read Revelation Christologically, not chronologically. As a pastor, St. John intends for us to read Revelation with a focus on discipleship, not on decipherment. As a poet, St. John intends for us to read Revelation literarily, not literally. We believe studyin...

At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus ends with a warning: our obedience to his Word is what makes us true disciples. While most of us would agree with this idea, few of us live it out. We’re either too afraid of becoming legalists, too obsessed with information alone, or too unwilling to humble ourselves and live out what we read. In each of these cases, we fall short of the blessing of...

All of us tend to twist the Bible to mean something it doesn’t or tame the Bible to make its teachings more palatable for us. But both ways of handling Scripture lead to our destruction and deformation. Instead, throughout the Scriptures, one of the most common metaphors for engaging with God’s word is eating it. We eat the text when we meditate on it, study it, and submit ourselves to it. We chew...

We’re bombarded with messages from political pundits, popular culture, social media ads, and news stories, all urging us to be true to ourselves, vilify those who are different, and pursue our own happiness no matter what the cost. These lies offer happiness but instead bring us slavery, just like how Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden. Satan still uses lies to lead us astray from God today...

John 15:1-11 CSB

Where we once found hope and meaning outside of ourselves in the church, the city, or the market, today we’re left to create our own hope and meaning from within ourselves. We follow our hearts and feelings, no matter the cost to ourselves and those around us. But where society says choice is now the highest value, tolerance the highest virtue, and denying yourself is the new unforgivable sin, how...

John 11 is a story of resurrection. But it isn’t Jesus’ resurrection. Just before he’s handed over to the Roman authorities to be crucified, Jesus brings his friend Lazarus back to life from the grave. In doing so, he demonstrates both his power over death, and his sympathy in the midst of it. This story reminds us of the authority Jesus has over the grave, but it also reminds us of the severity o...

For the modern mind, the Sabbath is typically associated with a day off work to attend church, get things done around the house, and binge on the latest TV show. While this may offer the illusion of rest, it is far from a holy day set apart for the Lord. The Bible presents a different view of the Sabbath, which involves focusing our minds, hearts, and bodies on the adoration of God. It includes th...

A key element of Sabbath is the practice of delight. When we take the time to stop and to rest, we find ourselves more aware of the goodness and beauty in the world around us. This recognition and enjoyment of creation is called delight, and it’s something that God himself does. Scripture is full of God delighting in his creation, including us. God delights when we delight. But most of us are too...

The idea of rest seems simple enough. We all want rest, but never seem to get it. Always just outside of our reach, rest seems either something to laugh at, or something to buy. But one of the most radical things Jesus teaches us is that he is able to offer us true rest without requiring us to work more, do more, or have more. When we practice Sabbath, we stop all our work and worry so that we’re...

In our culture of restlessness, busyness, and hurry, setting aside an entire day to stop all work and productivity sounds anything but restful. Yet deep inside all of us is a yearning for true rest, which is why God offers rest as a gift in the form of the weekly Sabbath. In Genesis 2 God himself takes a day to rest from his work, weaving a rhythm of rest into the fabric of creation. When we live...