BeachCast.TV: Bible Exploration, Apologetics and Church History with Dr. Chase A. Thompson:

Today we discuss the Ten Commandments. What does it actually mean to take the Lord's name in vain? And, what name is meant - what is God's name? Also - what do we learn about the character of God in the Ten Commandments?

Today we see an incredible episode in which townspeople initially want to sacrifice and honor Paul and Barnabas as gods and heroes, and just a short while later - they try to murder Paul. Humans are fickle and, as Paul teaches the church - trials are necessary to grow in Christ.

You are on trial, and the prosecutor, who has truckloads of evidence against you, needs only prove that you have done one single solitary wrong act in the entirety of your life to find you guilty. Every human would be found guilty in such a court, but a verdict of 'Not guilty' can be given to some - not because they haven't sinned, but because 0f what, or rather whom, they believe in. How can this...

Personal angels, guardian angels - lots of people have opinions about angels and what they do, but what does the Bible teach? Is it possible that each human, or each Christian actually has an angel assigned to them? Also: Charles Spurgeon on guardian angels. (He's a believer in them!)

Something remarkable happened in the early city of Antioch. A few Jewish Christians began to share the gospel not just with other Jewish people, but also gentile pagans and non-believers...and God saved many of those, leading to the birth of the most important church in history!

In Acts 10, Peter is summoned to speak at the house of a Roman centurion named Cornelius. At the house, Peter gives a splending and concise proclamation of the message about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit falls on those listening. Today we discuss Peter's brilliant (and short!) summary of the good news, and what we can learn from it in communicating with skeptics, critics, agnostics and unbelievers.

Today we explore the surprising and sobering dangers of grumbling and complaining, and hear encouragements from Paul and James in the Word of God (and Charles Spurgeon) that will help lead our hearts way from belly-aching.

Today we look at the leadership methods of Moses - how he led a complaining and panicky bunch of whining Israelites and pointed them to God's rescue.

Did the evil Saul have his name changed by Jesus to become Saint Paul? Actually...no - that didn't happen at all. Also - what can we learn from Barnabas - a man of great encouragement?

Today we read about a great conversation between the deacon Philip and a Ethiopian official in the queen's court. Philip engages this man with a friendly question, and this has a discussion with him about a Bible passage, that leads to a discussion about Jesus, that ultimately leads to the Ethiopian official getting saved, and sharing the gospel with an entire people group. What did Philip do in t...

Stephen the deacon was the first recorded martyr in the history of the church. He was killed by men who were enraged that he spoke truth to them. It was murder - plain and simple, but rather than cry out for justice and punishment as he was dying, Stephen prayed for mercy and forgiveness. Why? Is there more power in forgiveness than anger?

Today we discuss the passover and the destruction that came along with it. Were the people of Israel saved by their character, or money, or looks or fame? Actually, no - they were saved by blood. How?

God has His own personal, name, and He gives it to Moses in chapter 3 of Exodus, appearing out of a burning bush. God's name is quite mysterious though - what does it mean, and what does it tell us about the nature of God?

The first internal controversy to hit the early church is recorded in Acts 6 - there is tension between the Hebrew and Greek widows over the amount of ministry and help they were receiving. The apostles solved this problem with the appointment of deacons - serving ministers. Bonus discussion: Did one of the early deacons go rogue and become a heretic??

In Acts 5, we see the disciples blatantly disregard the orders of the ruling authorities to not preach about Jesus. Other New Testament Scripture, however, tells Christians that they must obey the ruling authorities - how can Christians navigate this issue? Is there a time for civil disobedience?

In Acts 4, the early church sees its leaders arrested and threatened for preaching that Jesus rose from the dead. How do they respond to this? Intense prayer, that leads to amazing boldness and a strengthening of their proclamation of Jesus - which also includes the audacious claim that Jesus is the single ONLY way to be saved. How can this be?

Today we read Acts 3 and consider the behavior of Peter and John after a man is miraculously healed. They deflect attention from themselves and send it towards Jesus, proclaiming the good news. How can we tell the difference between genuine ministers of Jesus and fakes?

Today we read Acts 2, see the birth of the church, and think about what early church gatherings must have been like. We will also hear an extended description of an early church gathering from Justin Martyr, who lived from 100-165, and he describes a normal Sunday morning gathering in church roughly 100 years after the resurrection of Jesus.

Today we discuss how the disciples made a big decision after Jesus ascended into Heaven - they prayed and cast lots. Should Christians today still cast lots? We also talk about the beginning of the spread of the good news across the Roman Empire, and how such a spread must have been supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Two quick topics for today. First: The Longer ending of Mark. Was there part of the original Gospel of Mark that was lost? Also - were the ancients gullible about things like the resurrection from the dead?

God miraculously provided a child named Isaac to the aged couple Abraham and Sarah, but in our Genesis 22 passage that we'll read today, we discover that God calls Abraham to sacrifice that child of the promise. Even though God intervened and prevented it from happening, why would God do such a thing in the first place?!

Today we discuss the wonderful truth that Abram/Abraham believed God and was considered righteous by God because of His faith - not because of His works. This great truth is the wonderful foundation of the New Testament good news of salvation by grace through faith, and not by works. Featuring some encouraging wisdom from Charles Spurgeon.

Today we are reading Mark 15, and considering the beautiful injustice of the crucifixion of Jesus. It was not fair that He - completely innocent - died a terrible death, but it is that death that saves us from suffering the same penalty. Why did God Abandon Jesus? We close with some reflections from pastor Tim Keller, answering that question.

Is it possible to love Jesus TOO much? Of course it's not...but, those who live a life of extravagant devotion to Jesus should not be surprised if such a focus leads to criticism...even criticism by other Christians.

Today we discuss what Jesus says are the signs - or indicators - that His return is imminent. We also discuss how He tells us to live in light of His return, and get some wisdom from Charles Spurgeon on being alert and watchful