Beards & Bible Podcast

A common experience for many Christians is to encounter another believer who seems to think that their church is the only true church, and outside of that particular church (or ones like theirs who have similar names, traditions, or practices) there is no other true church. Some might go far as to say that others who belong to different churches may not even be saved.   So what is the one, true Ch...

There are now 17.8 million children in the U.S. without a biological father, step father, or adoptive father in the home. That’s nearly 1 in 4 kids. Research shows that when a child is raised in a father-absent home, they’re more likely to have behavioral problems, commit a crime, go to prison, become pregnant as a teen, get addicted to drugs and alcohol, and drop out of school.   Even though U.S....

On May 30, former president Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime when a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. After two days of deliberation, the 12-member jury pronounced Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts he faced. This high-profile case has sparked conversations nationw...

On this week's episode, Gabe and Josh talk of Gabe's upcoming baby, Josh's 13 year wedding anniversary, Josh's AIM screen name, and the gang answers some great questions sent in by listeners related to women in pastoral leadership and infant baptism. 

We’re commanded in Scripture to be anxious for nothing, to not worry about our lives, and to cast all our cares upon the Lord. So…if we feel anxious or battle an anxiety disorder, are we in sin? What about depression? Does being a Christian mean that we’ll never get depressed or battle intense seasons of despair or discouragement?   *****DISCLAIMER***** We’re not therapists, psychologists, or ment...

Philippians 3:20 tells us that as believers, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”. 1 Peter 2:11-12 calls us as believers, “sojourners and exiles”. All throughout the Bible, it’s clear that the people of God have a primary allegiance to a different kind of Kingdom and a preeminent, sovereign King who rules and reigns over and above the kings and kingd...

Beards and Bible podcast listeners, we have now reached 100 episodes!!! We are so incredibly grateful for all of our amazing listeners and fans who have made our podcast the thing that it has become over the past four years. To celebrate our 100th episode, we're dedicating the entire episode to our listeners by answering some of your awesome questions. We will be tackling questions on boundaries,...

Different terms translated as dragon appear more than 20 times in the OT and four times in the NT. Not only that, nearly every major ancient culture has myths and legends about giant reptiles. How would these civilizations, continents and millennia apart, all come up with legends of giant reptilian creatures? In an epic crossover episode with our friend from Nerds and Jesus podcast, we're diving d...

What’s up Beards and Bible listeners, on today’s episode, both of us will respond to four separate questions (related to life, theology, ministry, or anything else) that we haven’t seen or heard about beforehand- so every answer we give will completely unscripted- for better or for worse. So this oughta be fun…what could go wrong?

The relationship between churches, pastors, missionaries, ministries and money can be tricky. Ministries rely on the financial contributions of donors to sustain everything they’re trying to do. All throughout the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament, the people of God are told to be generous and give to the work of God through the church. So, churches and ministries need money to do good thin...

You may have had an encounter with someone from a group called the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Maybe they left some of their literature in your mailbox, maybe they knocked on your door, or maybe you had an extended conversation with one of them at a park or public place. At first, it would seem that they’re a Christian group with an intense dedication to evangelism, but as you interact with their doctrin...

The Ark of the Covenant has been a fascinating topic of study for Bible scholars, historians, archeologists, and lovers of Indiana Jones for a long time. This sacred artifact has captured imaginations for centuries- but what was this mysterious chest, and why did it hold such profound significance for the people of ancient Israel? How was it built, what was it made of, and what was inside of it? W...

Happy new year Beards and Bible listeners! We are so excited to open up our inbox and do our best to answer some super interesting questions that were all sent in by you as the listener. We've got questions about being a Christian in the military, disagreements between Calvinists and Arminians, the differences between Catholics/Protestants and the Orthodox Church, a question about singing worship...

Happy holidays Beards and Bible listeners! I hope you all are having a fantastic and blessed holiday season, however you’re celebrating with your family and loved ones. Just wanted to hop on and say a huge THANK YOU to all of who have listened, subscribed, shared, and interacted with our podcast this past year. 2023 has been an incredible year for us- we’ve hit just shy of 72,000 downloads with li...

A new documentary was recently released called, “The Mission” tells the story of John Chau. In 2018, Chau, a young American missionary, was killed by arrows while attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island off the coast of India. The Sentinelese tribe are one of the six native and often reclusive peoples of the Andaman and Nicobar Isla...

The church in the United States is at an interesting crossroads. Surveys suggest that there are good things happening in churches across America- such as an increase in volunteerism, optimism among members and ministers, and a significant drop in church conflicts and intense dissensions. However, there are also still serious challenges for most churches in the U.S. Churches in America are at a ver...

What’s up Beards and Bible listeners! We don’t have a new episode for you this week (or next week because it’ll be Thanksgiving), but we do have a little something to hold you over until then. Our good buddy Jonathan Ciecka, who is the discipleship pastor at the Experience Community Church in Murfreesboro, is releasing a new video series on YouTube with a corresponding podcast on common questions...

In recent years, the practices, traditions, and liturgy of the American Church has drastically changed. Things like stained glass windows, pews, and altars have been replaced by TV’s, lights, padded seats, and stages. Ministers who used to wear vestal robes now deliver messages in skinny jeans using IPads.   It’s not that churches that embrace nontraditional, modern methodology have moved away fro...

What’s up Beards and Bible listeners! A lot has happened since the guys last sat down together, so on today’s episode we’ll talk about running a marathon together, the recent events in Israel and Gaza, and how this might have something to do with end times prophecy. Should be a good one!

What’s up Beards and Bible listeners, on our last episode we talked about gun ownership, self-defense, and the Christian ethics related to those issues. On our today's episode, we’re going to hear a different Christian perspective- one that advocates nonviolence, gun control, and Christian pacifism. Even though many American evangelicals are unfamiliar with and often oppose those who hold to this...

There are a number of Christian traditions (Mennonites, Quakers, Adventists, Moravians, etc.) who hold to a position of non-violence/Christian pacifism and say that owning a gun for self-defense isn’t a Biblically supported position. They’ll quote verses like Matthew 26:52, where Jesus says “put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Or Matthew 5:39 w...

Leaders within the church are called by scripture to live and lead in a way that is above reproach- that doesn’t mean that they must be perfect (or we’d have no leaders), but it does mean that someone who leads must practice personal integrity, character, and godliness. The little things in life reveal character- and character matters in church leadership more than talent, ability, appearance, per...

In March of 2023, Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke released a documentary film entitled Come Out in Jesus Name. The film chronicled the ministries of deliverance ministers such as Alexander Pagani, Isaiah Saldivar, and Mike Signorelli. The movie features footage from real life “deliverance” services, where individuals allegedly manifest demonic spirits while screaming, retching, falling, shaking, and w...

Howdy listeners! This week's episode is a bit different with Gabe traveling to Israel, but with a little bit of international date line maneuvering, we're still able to make things happen.   So join us as Gabe checks in from Israel, Josh answers e-mail questions, and Jason Aldean dares you to try that in a small town...(whatever "that" may happen to be). 

In the year 325 at the First Council of Nicea, leaders of the early church adopted a very important statement of belief in response to a false teacher named Arius. Arius was an Egyptian presbyter from Alexandria who introduced a new theology that stated while Jesus was the Son of God, He wasn’t really God- he was a created being who had been given some divine attributes. The early church responded...