Beggars at the Gate

By popular demand! Ben and Darren discuss the most requested topic for the podcast, the fig trees in the gospels. This may seem like an obscure topic to discuss but it is rich with biblical imagery and the glory of the gospel in the New Covenant. Listen in as we explore the vast riches Scripture has to offer in even the smallest details.

In light of the recent election, Ben and Darren discuss how we as Christians should respond and what our hope is. They discuss the nature of the two kingdoms we live in and what our mission should be and why the mission of the church must be protected.

Ben and Darren continue their discussion on discipleship of our families as they look at parents' responsibilities to their children on Sunday and beyond. They discuss the role and responsibility of the church in overall discipleship and how that should shape home life.

What does God command from parents as they seek to raise their children to know the Lord? Ben and Darren discuss what discipleship in the home might look like, from formal devotion time to informal discussions. 

Ben and Darren talk through the (sometimes) hotly debated doctrine of cessationism? What is it? Is it biblical? Where do we see this in Scripture and why is it important? What about our charismatic and continuationist brothers and sisters? 

Ben and Darren discuss the ending to the Lord's Prayer. Should this section be included in Scripture or is it an addition later on? How does the doxology shape our prayers and our life as Christians? What does it look like to live for the glory of God and desire that above all things?

Ben and Darren discuss the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer where we see our dependence on God to avoid sin and to be delivered from a threat more powerful than we can handle on our own. And in this we see God's loving heart for his children.

Do we have to earn God's forgiveness through our own willingness to forgive? What does it mean to forgive as God forgives us? Ben and Darren discuss these topics and more as they look at the fifth petition.

Ben and Darren discuss the fourth petition, give us this day our daily bread. What does this say about who our God is, who we are, and how we should live our daily lives? Should the Christian be anxious about daily needs?

We discuss the third petition in the Lord's Prayer, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We discuss topics like what is the Lord's will and what we mean when we ask that God do his own will.

We discuss the second petition in the Lord's prayer as we make our way through the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. What is God's kingdom and what is it we're praying when we pray that God's kingdom would come. We discuss our understanding of the Reformed Two Kingdom view (and attempt to define it) and how this guides prayer and life in this world as believers.

Ben and Darren talk through the first petition of the Lord's Prayer as they continue their series through this model prayer Jesus taught us. What does it mean for us to pray that God's name would be hallowed?

We continue our series on prayer by looking at the preface to the Lord's Prayer. Why do we address God as our Father? Is it important that we understand he's in heaven? What does it look like to pray together? 

When we pray, how do we know what we should pray for? Not only should we lift up our heart's desire, we're commanded to do so. We're also called to pray according to God's will, which is revealed in his word. We talk about these as well as whether or not prayer changes God and other topics.

We begin a series on prayer by looking at what prayer is and how the gospel should inform our prayer life. Why is thanksgiving important? Why pray if God is sovereign? These questions and more in today's episode.

In today's episode we talk about what it looks like to be a Christian in the modern workplace. How should Christians be thought of, how do you share the gospel with others when you might only have a few minutes, and how do we respond biblically to gender identity issues? 

When we sit under the preaching of the word, how should we listen to it? What should go through our minds? We discuss this as well as preparation beforehand and discussion afterward.

Have you ever wondered how we select songs and passages for Sunday or pick our next books to preach through? Or perhaps you've wondered why we do liturgy the way we do. We discuss what our liturgy is, how we select songs, and what it looks like for us to pick books of the Bible to preach through.

We all want to be the one who has it all together, but none of us do. In fact, we're more broken than we even know. And that's ok. What do we mean by that? What do we not mean by that? Listen in as we discuss our need for grace and how we can find it in Christ and his church from a pastoral perspective.

We finish our series on the Ten Commandments looking at final command to not covet. What does it forbid? What does it require? How do we break it and how do we look to the gospel?

We come to the penultimate command of the 10 commandments in the prohibition against bearing false witness against your neighbor. We discuss how this is far more than just a command against not lying, but deals with our reputations and how we speak of one another. As always we look at where this comes from in the character of God and how the gospel applies to law-breakers like us.

We continue our series through the 10 Commandments as we talk about the 8th commandment against stealing. What does it mean to steal? Can we steal from ourselves? What does it look like to love our neighbor in regard to this command, and how does the gospel apply to us here? This and more in the episode.

We discuss the command to not commit adultery and why God commands us to pursue purity. This is a particularly sensitive topic full of guilt and shame but one the gospel addresses and gives great encouragement on. We handle it in a pastoral and family friendly manner but we do discuss the reality of our cultural context. You may want to keep younger ears from these topics until you're ready to dis...

Join our discussion of the sixth commandment, you shall not murder. We discuss the difference between killing and murder, the reason for the command, the way we all break it, and our hope in the gospel. 

We start in on the second table of the law as we discuss what it means to honor our father and mother, what that means for us as parents, and how this drives us to the gospel.