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

Godliness is not a trait that can be produced by humanity - we cannot by our efforts make ourselves more godly...but in today's reading from the book of Titus, Paul reveals a supernatural activity that can and will produce godliness in the lives of those who partake of it.

In 2nd Timothy 4, Paul gives an eerily accurate description of a time in the future where religious people (who likely call themselves Christians) will not put up with truth from God's Word, but will seek out teachers who will say nice and inoffensive things to them. Paul here seems to be describing our present age, and thus gives us advice on how to live in it. We also conclude with the 'SPOOKIES...

Today we discuss having a good and profitable hope in hard times, and how to be faithful when the culture around us isn't. We also continue in our spookiest Bible stories mini series, with the second scariest Bible story!

Today we begin looking at the 5 spookiest stories in the Bible, including a story about a supernaturally empowered man who lived in a graveyard and howled all of the time and the time a group of men were in a small boat, miles away from land when a storm hit and as they were trying to get back to land, they saw a ghostly figure approaching! More seriously, we also discuss the Bible's discipleship...

Paul writes to a young minister in 2nd Timothy who might be struggling with fear and timidity and assures him that God is not the one who has given that 'spirit of fear' to Timothy, nor anyone else, because God doesn't give a spirit of fear. What does this mean, practically, why is 'do not fear' one of the most often repeated commands of the Bible, and HOW can we overcome fear when we are struggli...

The Bible has many warnings for the wealthy and warnings against the wholehearted pursuit of riches. Does this mean that it is actually a sin to be rich? Today we dive into the very nuanced biblical teachings on money, riches and giving with the help of our old friend Charles Spurgeon.

Gossip - most people know that gossiping is wrong, but are actually quite confused about what, precisely, gossip is. Today we discuss what the Bible means when it forbids gossip and we find out just how dangerous and destructive gossip can be.

Paul warns his protege Timothy to watch out for false teachings inspired by demons and lying spirits...and then he proceeds to tell Timothy what sorts of teachings that he means. While many would expect demonic teachings to be more overtly evil and awful, it turns out that the kinds of demonic teachings Paul was warning Timothy about are surprisingly mundane, but yet very, very dangerous.

How important is happiness? Many preachers have extolled the benefits of joy, while considering happiness a more fleshly pursuit. The Bible, however, seems to speak of both of those terms in the same way, and on today's podcast the mighty man of faith George Muller is going to show us how to be happy in the Lord on a daily basis.

If you've grown up in the church, you've very likely heard at least one - perhaps many - sermons based on Paul's instructions to women in 1 Timothy 2 to dress modestly. Why are these commands in the Bible, and what is Paul meaning in his use of the word 'modest?"

Paul calls Timothy (and Christians) to "fight the good fight." COnsidering that Jesus taught Christians to turn the other cheek, this command raises some important questions: Who should Christians fight and how should they fight? Is Paul using figurative language hear to reveal a deep spiritual truth, or should we all be looking for somebody to punch in the nose?

We all know that Jesus was compassionate and taught His followers to give to, sacrifice for and care for the least of these - the hungry, the poor, the naked, the alien/stranger/foreigner, etc. Today we consider that there is a surprising exception to the command to feed the hungry in Scripture. The apostle Paul commands that members of this one particular group must not be fed - can disqualify yo...

Daniel 6 contains one of the best known and most iconic stories in the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's den. In this story, a pagan king is tricked into signing an execution warrant for the righteous Daniel. God rescues Daniel in an amazing and miraculous way. A second near miracle in the passage is perhaps less well-known. Why is it that the pagan king Darius was so worried and concerned for Daniel,...

Most people think that church growth is the #1 sign of a healthy church. Do we get this idea from anywhere in the Bible? Today we consider what seems to be signs of a healthy and strong church in the eyes of Paul from his letter to the Thessalonians, and also briefly survey Mark Dever's "9 Marks of a Healthy Church."

In a fascinating story from today's Bible reading, God sends a lying spirit to ensnare the evil king Ahab and bring about his destruction. Does this mean that God governs and uses evil to bring about His will and do good?

King Ahab was just awful - a murderer, an idolator, and a whiny, selfish and spineless king. He was one of the worst kings in Israel's history and God pronounces a terrible judgment on Ahab through the prophet Elijah...but all of the sudden, God shows great mercy - what happened to cause that?!

If you ask the average man on the street if God gets angry, he will probably answer in the negative, because most people can't picture how a good and loving God could actually be angry. When you read the Bible, however, you find that God does indeed get angry and does so frequently. How can this be? How can a kind, loving and good God be angry?

Elijah was a mighty man of God, and had seen incredible spiritual victories and miracles in his lifetime. Suddenly, however, he is threatened by the queen and runs in fear of his life, giving up, and asking God to kill him. How did Elijah fall from victory to hopelessness so quickly, and what can we do when we find ourselves in the same situation?

The New Testament book of James exhorts Christians to pray like Elijah, who prayed to God after 3.5 years of no rain, and God answered and sent rain. What was Elijah's secret? It turns out that there is no hidden mystery to how Elijah prayed...he just prayed with profound persistence, and so can you and I!

Epaphras, an unsung Bible hero, was constantly 'wrestling' in prayer for the Colossian church. The results of this wrestling, according to the apostle Paul, was maturity in Christ and great assurance of faith. What does it mean to wrestle in prayer, how can we do it, and what sort of impact might it make in our local church and city?

In Colossians 3, Paul lists out a number of behaviors that Christians must put to death in themselves, and the list contains such seemingly major sins like sexual immorality, and other seemingly banal/common sins like anger and slander. What can we learn from this, and what behaviors and attitudes are Christians called to embrace, or put on?

Today we discuss spiritual friendships and the C.S. Lewis insight that adding friends to a group doesn't dilute the friendship, but enhances it. We also discuss Paul's insight in Colossians that Christians will know Jesus and God's ways better in a loving community than as individuals.

In my youth, I used to frequently pray for the 'starving children in Africa.' Do such general prayers offered for people we've never seen or met actually have any impact, or are they just religious acts of emptiness? Today we discover that Paul devoted significant time praying for a group of Christians that he had never personally seen - what can learn about prayer from this practice of Paul?

An argument has shaken the church at Philippi, and news of the disagreement reaches Paul, who writes back, urging the two combatants to AGREE. He doesn't say which one is write, or wrong - he makes no ruling on the source of the conflict, only commands agreement. As we study the New Testament, we find this command to agree repeated multiple times - MUST we be in agreement, and if so, then HOW?!

Today we discuss strong language and the Bible. It turns out that there are myriad examples of very strong and offensive (but not foul) language in the Bible, including Paul's use of a very strange Greek term in Philippians 3 that can best be translated as 'crap' or 'dung.' Why would Paul use language like this, and what important point was he making with such a strong word?