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

The Bible makes it quite clear that Christians will endure discipline, affliction, suffering, trials and other unpleasantness. Why are such things necessary? Why doesn't God just protect us from ALL harm and trouble?

Elijah was a human being just like us. Weak, scared, anxious, even sometimes suicidal...and yet he prayed prayers that shook the earth and changed history. James 5 tells us to pray like Elijah - how can we do this? How can our prayers be more effective?

Hello everybody, and Happy Tuesday to you! Welcome into the most ridiculous, and yet profoundly titled episode of the Bible Reading Podcast. If the end of the world happens today, or a cure for coronavirus is announced, or World War 3 begins between the Bulgarians and the elite warriors of Burkina Faso, and you're wondering why in the world I'm not commenting on that in the intro...it's because I'...

Hello friends, and happy Monday to you all! As you might recall, I'm preparing for a short road trip this week, and trying to record a few extra episodes before I head out on the road, so the next few episodes might be a little shorter than normal. Have no fear, I should be back to my normal long-winded self by next weekend. Today's Bible readings are sort of complicated - thank you Robert Murray...

Hello friends, and happy Lord's Day to you all! Some of us have the privilege of worshipping together in person today, and some - like us - are still in quarantine. Wherever you fall along that spectrum, I pray that the Lord would bless you and keep you safe - that He would preserve your life and give you a wonderful gathering today. I am excited about our own church gathering, even though it is l...

Hello friends and welcome to the weekend! As a heads up, the next few podcasts might be a little on the shorter than normal side, as I am preparing for a small road trip with my daughter, and will have to record a few episodes to upload while gone. So - the plan is - Lord willing! - for there to be an uninterrupted stream of episodes all next week, but to do that, I'll need to record a few in adva...

Hello everybody and happy Friday to you. After a long and rambly Coronavirus intro yesterday, today's intro is short. I would say short and sweet, but it's actually just short. Comment: Jesse: I don't see the video Set your eyes that you mention. I will go look for it on youtube. FIXED!  Today's Bible readings include Numbers 16, Psalms 52-54, Isaiah 6 and Hebrews 13. Our focus passage is the famo...

Hello everybody, and happy Thursday to you! Today is the beginning of week 8 of quarantine for us in central California/The Bay Area. That seems like a long time. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that my whole city would spend 8 weeks in quarantine this year, and you somehow convinced me it was absolutely true, then after I got over my stunned silence, I guess I would begin to prepa...

Hello friends and happy Wednesday to you! Today we are covering a Bible passage that many might be familiar with, as this is a favorite for preachers to preach through - and with good reason! Hebrews 11 is rich with meaning and lots depth and encouragement. This passage gives us not only a definition of faith, but a plethora of illustrations that demonstrate to us what faith is, and how it might l...

Hello friends, and Happy Tuesday to you. I realize with some chagrin that I missed wishing you a happy Star Wars day yesterday, but I can wish you a happy Cinco De Mayo today. Today's Bible readings include Numbers 11 and 12, Psalms 49, Isaiah 2 and Hebrews 10, which is our focus passage. Today we finish up our discussion of The Perseverance of the Saints, or Once Saved Always Saved, which basical...

Hello friends, and happy Monday. Another week begins. A week of uncertainty in the U.S. as many are still in lockdown - such as us in California, and others are beginning to come out of lockdown, and wondering if it is safe to do so. Regardless of your situation, I want to encourage us all to remember that God is our ever-present refuge. Whether you are locked down and antsy, or being released bac...

Happy Lord's Day, Brethren and Sistren. Today is a wonderful day to celebrate the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! If you don't have a digital church home - what a strange thing to say! - please consider joining our digital church home - just go to Facebook and search VBC Salinas , and join us for our service at 11am Pacific. We would love to have you! Today's Bible readings include...

Happy Saturday, Friends, and welcome into the first ever NFY episode Bible Reading podcast. This particular episode, if I was recording it from my home state of Alabama, deep in the hollers of L.A. - lower Alabama, of course, I would rate this NFY - Not For Young'uns. Don't worry -we're not going to get too saucy, but it is a bit of a mature topic. Short episode today, because I have a massive plu...

Hello friends, and a happy May to you!  Today's Bible readings include Numbers 8, quite a bit shorter than chapter 7, and also Psalms 44, Song of Songs 6 and Hebrews 6. Today is part two of our continuing discussion on the Perseverance of the Saints, and our big question is, does Hebrews 6 indicate that a saved person can become unsaved? Here's the pertinent section: 4  For it is impossible to ren...

Hello friends, and happy Thursday to you. A bit of a heavy topic today - depression - but there us much hope in the Word when we go beyond the surface. This will be a continuing series for us also, and like our discussion of the Perseverance of the Saints, it will be spread out, rather than consecutive. Today's Scripture readings include Numbers 7 (the longest chapter we've read thus far, and the...

Happy Wednesday, friends! Today we in California are celebrating an astounding SIX weeks of sheltering in place, and it looks like a few more weeks are on tap. I guess celebrating is the wrong word there. We are LAMENTING six weeks of sheltering in place. Lord deliver us from this pandemic! Today's Bible readings don't have anything to do with coronavirus, but do equip us to live and thrive in tim...

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today we are celebrating the birthday of the most famous writer in the history of the state of Alabama, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird" Lee. Fun fact: No mockingbirds die during that book. Jay Leno and Jessica Alba also have birthdays today. Happy birthday, Jessica! Today's Bible readings include Numbers 5, Psalms 39, Song of Songs 3, and Hebrews 3. Our focus question comes...

Happy Monday, friends - and God bless all of you essential workers, first responders, medical professionals and others that are headed into work today to keep our country going, to serve the needs of the people, and to heal and help the sick. We are more grateful for you than we have ever been before, and that gratitude and appreciation is long overdue.  Today's Bible readings include Numbers 4, S...

Happy Lord's Day to you, friends and family! As I write this greeting, I've just finished uploading a series of testimonies and words of encouragement from members of our church family to be shown in today's livestream. I'd love to invite you to join us - just go to Facebook and search for VBC Salinas, and you can jump on and worship and pray with us, and hear a message on standing firm in the mid...

Hello friends, and happy weekend to you. Yes, if you're like me - the weekend doesn't mean as much as it used to, because all the days bleed together. Sundays are still special, however, because our church gathers together online, we worship and pray together live - online - and we listen to the Word together live. It's not the same, but it's not bad either. I find myself looking forward to it, an...

Happy Friday, Faithful Friends. Today's Big Bible Word is Alliteration. Oh wait, it is actually peace-making. Everybody knows that Jesus said that the peacemakers are blessed (for they will be called children of God), but many may not know what it actually means or looks like to be a peacemaker. Today we read Numbers chapter 1, Psalms 35, Ecclesiastes 11 and Titus 3, which is one of the best and m...

Happy Thursday to you, friends! Today was a beautiful and warm day in central California, and I think that has many people - including my kids - antsy for a return to regular life. I am rooting for that to be sooner, rather than later, but fully expect it to be later rather than sooner. Alas. On a walk today with my wife, she asked me how much longer I thought the quarantine and shut down would la...

Happy Wednesday, friends. I have refused for many years to call Wednesday 'hump-day' as a matter of principle, and I still refuse, so don't hold your breath hoping for me to wish you a happy hump-day at some point. It won't happen, unless I have been kidnapped and forced to do the podcast against my will, at which point, I will signal my need for rescue by uttering that greeting. Hopefully, we won...

Hello everybody, and happy Tuesday to you! I am at day 32 or 33 of my partial Nazarite vow - no beer and no wine is going okay, and I have the haircut part is down pat - I have an unruly mop on my head that will begin to look cavemanesque in about 3 days. Unfortunately, I'm not doing so well on the rest of the fruit of the vine part, as I eat a bowl of Raisin Bran with banana slices nearly every d...

Happy Monday, friends. I tried to come up with a better intro situation than that, but my creative brain failed me miserably. My apologies for such a vanilla greeting. You honestly deserve better than that, and I've let you down. It is important to note, however - that I haven't persecuted you by letting you down. Persecution is a different thing entirely, and a discussion about persecution is wha...