Bible Geeks Podcast

Bring Others to Christ What do Jesus’ miracles have to do with our greatest problem? And why is faith so hard for some people to get their minds around? We’re discussing one more episode of the Chosen before launching a new guided study next week. This week we watched Season 1, Episode 6 — “Indescribable Compassion” — then connected the dots from the plotlines to the gospels. In Luke 5, the leper,...

Keep Watching & Trusting God The Bible Geeks A.V. Club is back as we return to our popular series, talking through the TV show The Chosen. This week, we dive into the Bible background for the episode “The Wedding Gift” (Season 1, Episode 5), from young Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:41-52) to the wedding where he turned water to wine (John 2:1-12). What’s the significance of that early miracle? What...

Speak the Gospel What do a group of lepers, an adulteress woman, a dead, rich man, and a former demon-possessed strong man have in common? We’re excited to be back for a new season of Bible Geeks! This season will focus on evangelism. This week we introduce a new segment we call “Bible Headlines” and zoom in on some unlikely evangelists. Thanks for jumping back in and listening! The Big Idea: You...

Enjoy the Journey Together What are your favorite qualities of your best friend, and how have your friends changed you? As we conclude this season of Bible Geeks, we finish up our Two by Two study with a celebration of God’s gift of friendship. We begin with a moment where Christ looked to a dear one to care for his mother after his death. Then, we go Flyin’ Through the Book of Third John, with it...

Face Trials Together How would your life's biggest trials have turned out without a friend to bear your load? Scripture says “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov. 17:17). This week, in the penultimate episode of this season (and of our Two by Two study), we reflect on the support we find in good companions when everything falls apart. We build an A Team of Friend...

Push Friends to Deeper Devotion Everybody loves getting poked in the eye, right? No, it’s never fun on either end of those “we need to talk” moments between friends, yet the Bible calls a friend’s wounds “faithful” (Prov. 27:6). So session 7 of our Two by Two study focuses on how friends sharpen each other like iron on iron (Prov. 27:17). It may sound like we’re contradicting ourselves after we ju...

Establish Trust and Openness How are fickle companions like imaginary friends? In session six of our friendship study, we explore how trust, loyalty, and honesty change our interactions. One of the gifts of friendship is knowing someone has your back and feeling safe to share what’s really happening in your life. So this week we dig into Four Proverbs on dependable friends, learning how gossip mak...

Care Enough to Listen How can we give our friendships a boost by lending an ear? Where did Eli go wrong and where did he get it right with Hannah? And what’s the deal with those brackets around John 7:53-8:11 in modern Bibles? Session 5 of the Two By Two study focuses on listening as a core friendship trait. We look at the story of a woman caught in adultery and one about a woman accused of drunke...

Treasure the Stories of Scripture The results are in and the votes counted. This year’s Bible Bracket has gone from a field of 64 beloved Bible stories down to one. On this episode we walk through some lessons learned from our Final Four and celebrate the life-changing power of Scripture’s many rich stories. We also share our own personal favorites and upsets and discuss what Jesus Said about his...

Love Others as Yourself What happens when you expect a friend to never let you down or have a fault? How do we stay steady and reliable in our love for others? Here, in session four of our Two By Two study, we get to the heart of friendship. We work through how we look out for each other — from demonstrating mercy to friends to saying “I love you” without making it weird. We’re breaking out some o...

Overcome the Obstacles to Getting Close How do our fears, anxieties, and differences get in the way of forming new and deeper relationships? In session three of our “Two By Two” study of friendship, we face the fact that sometimes making friends isn’t easy. We share some Deep Thoughts about Paul’s great ode to humility in Philippians 2:1-11. We also look to the example of Jesus and his diverse col...

Treasure the Stories of Scripture Spring is in the air, March Madness is on TV, and you know what that means over here at the Bible Geeks: It’s Bible Bracket time! This year’s bracket focuses on “Favorite Bible Stories,” celebrating the greatest hits of the world’s greatest book with four “regionals”: Profound Parables, Ancient Heroes, Sunday School Classics, and Jesus in Action. On this episode o...

Make Some Room for Friendship Is it just us, or is it hard to find room for all the friendships you want to maintain? Sometimes we feel guilt over not being close to everyone in the church, and other times we wonder how we’ll make the time to connect with anyone at a substantive level! So here, in session 2 of our Two by Two guided study, we notice how Jesus tended to friendships and take a Closer...

Realize the Power of Community We’re back and excited to start a new guided study on friendship called “Two By Two.” This first study comes from the Bible’s encouragement to value and invest in building these bonds. Four Proverbs on Friends remind us to choose our companions carefully and value quality over quantity. We learn from how Jesus sent the disciples out that he wants us to team up, and w...

Enjoy the Journey Today — as this drops — it’s the fifth anniversary of our first show’s release. And since it’s also our 200th episode, we took some time to look back and share our Favorite Things about doing Bible Geeks (including a few favorite clips!). We kick it off with a “meta” Finding Jesus, talking about why we always start with Christ. Then we get into why we’re still here and don’t plan...

Put Your Faith in Jesus “If the Messiah is here, the Romans don’t matter—anything is possible now!” The AV Club is back with a Chosen episode that challenges us to hold onto our faith when life’s problems overwhelm us and we don’t understand God’s commands. From all-nighters to Matthew’s unique outlook, the episode sparked a lot of questions and a few Deep Thoughts. Simon Peter’s story is so relat...

Look Forward with Hope & Courage Ever wanted a straightforward process for learning from your past and planning some growth and goals for the future? Well, “take a look! It’s in a book!” The Bible Geeks Book Club is back with part 2 of our discussion of Michael Hyatt’s Your Best Year Ever. This week we share a few of our Favorite Things, highlighting Scriptural principles like grace, clarity, and...

Learn from Past Experiences If your past year were a movie, what genre would it be? And what do gratitude and belief have to do with setting goals? This week we look backward and forward with the help of a book fit for a new year, as the Bible Geeks Book Club returns. Michael Hyatt’s Your Best Year Ever, a resource Ryan had used for years, leads us through a process for “catching up” with the past...

See Children Like Jesus Did What does Jesus' work have to do with his desire to "let the little children come" to him (Matt. 19:14)? The Bible Geeks A.V. Club is back to discuss season 1, episode 3 of The Chosen! After a brief recap of the story, we take a Closer Look at the Scriptural background for the episode's plot. We learn from two moments in Mark 9 and 10 when Jesus engaged with children (M...

Adorn Yourself with Modesty How should a Christian dress? After several weeks off, we’re back with a special guest to talk about modest apparel. Ryan’s wife, Adrienne, joins the show to help answer a question submitted to us by a young woman who listens to the show. We take a Closer Look at two key passages and the Bible words used there. Then we get into some practical questions every disciple fa...

Abound in Grace and Peace Peace, Love, Grace, and Faith. As we wrap up this 13-session study of Ephesians, Paul’s closing blessing (6:21-24) points us to these four Heavy Words. We can’t help but wax poetic a little when we reflect on God’s overflowing goodness — talk of waterfalls, oceans, and mountains abound. But we also reflect on the lasting impression and practical takeaways this study has l...

Stand Strong in the Lord’s Armor How can we stand in temptation and trial? This week we dive into Paul’s great text on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-20. Introducing a new segment, we take A Closer Look at each part of the “armor of God.” The study reminds us of our true enemy and our superior fire power. We end with a Reach Out discussion of the gaps in our armor that highlights our need for...

Reflect Christ in Your Relationships How do we apply church-like submission and Christ-like headship in our marriages? And what should Christians take from the servant / master commandments (and do those commandments mean that Christianity is pro-slavery)? This week we ask a lot of big questions in a Do You Understand segment focused on the Household instructions in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Here in ses...

Swap Your Steps for the Lord’s This week we discuss replacing old habits with a new way to walk, including some specific changes. What is “proper” behavior for a Christian? And practically speaking, how do we get filled with the Spirit? It’s a conversation about wise choices and discerning the light through “evil days.” We get into the difference between applying Scripture’s principles and command...

Put On a New Identity We’re Talking Through Ephesians 4:17-32, a pragmatic look at how we put off the old and put on a new way of life. We take on some big questions, like: What’s the deal with grieving the Holy Spirit? And what does not letting "the sun go down on" our anger have to do with giving opportunity to the devil (4:26-27)? We figure out how to speak as fits the occasion and what it mean...