Bible in Life

Find Rest in God Alone | Psalms 131 and 62 Psalm 131  1 My heart is not proud, Lord,     my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters     or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,     I am like a weaned child with its mother;     like a weaned child I am content. 3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord     both now and forevermore.   Psalm 62:5-8 5 ...

What does it mean that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison? | 1 Peter 3:18-21   In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast John and Steven think through 1 Peter 3:18-21. What does it mean that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison? And what does it mean that baptism saves you?   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry:...

What Does the Backstory to 1 Peter Have to Say about our Political Situation Today  In this episode of the Bible and Life podcast John and Steven reflect on the situation facing the original audience of 1 Peter and the difference that makes to our life today.    Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthl...

Learning Lifestyle Evangelism from 1 Peter  In the episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John and Steven reflect on 1 Peter and what it teaches about lifestyle evangelism. Two key Bible passages from 1 Peter in this episode are:  1 Peter 3:14-15 - Always be ready to give an answer   14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation,...

In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John visits with Philip Nation, Vice President of Thomas Nelson Bibles.  Philip Nation Philip Nation is the Vice-President/Publisher of Thomas Nelson Bibles. He has served as a pastor, church planter, and education minister in local churches. He frequently travels to speak in churches and for conferences. Philip earned a Doctor of Ministry from Southea...

Ironic Boasts of the Bible - Suffering 3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. - Romans 5:3-5   Boasting in suffering s...

Ironic Boasts of the Bible - A Low but High Position 9 Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich p...

Ironic Boasts of the Bible - Weakness  And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9 Why would anyone choose to boast about what makes them seem unimpressive or like a loser? That doesn't make any sense. And yet that's wha...

Ironic Boasts of the Bible - The Cross But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. - Galatians 6:14 What does it mean to boast in the cross? And why is boasting in the cross so shocking?   Revelation Study Guide - https://listenerscommentary.com/revelation/   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear...

A Basic Theology of Spiritual Growth   Using Aristotle's four causes as a tool to think through the nature of spiritual growth, John provides a basic spiritual theology: what is the "material" spiritual growth works with and on? What is the essence of spiritual growth? What is the key thing that brings about spiritual growth? And what is the aim or goal of spiritual growth in our lives?  Key passa...

Does Grace Mean God Lowers the Standard? | 1 John   In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John and Steven explore this question: Does grace mean God lowers the bar of his expectations for his children? Does it mean since he knows they'll never actually measure up that he just lowers the standard? Should we are Christians act like sin is no big deal because God is gracious?    Free 30 Page...

Those Born of God Do Not Sin??? | 1 John 3 In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John and Steven reflect on the nature of sin. Is sin merely breaking God's rules or some religious laws? If we're forgiven, does God no longer see our sin? And what does John mean by saying the person who is born of God does not sin?  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhi...

If our sins are forgiven, why do we need to confess them? First John 1:9 states, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But if our sins are already forgiven, why do need to confess them?  That's the question Steven and John explore in this episode of the Bible in Life podcast.    Free 30 Page eBook to hel...

How Does the Faith Get Passed on From Generation to Generation?  In the episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John explores 1 Timothy 1:1-2 and reflects on how the faith gets passed down from one generation to the next.    Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link bel...

Honesty with God - What Can God Hear?  In this part of my conversation with Kyle Strobel we explore what it looks like to be honest with God, the very theme of the book Where Prayer Becomes Real. As Kyle says, "Prayer is the place we draw near in the truth to offer ourselves to the Lord." Being honest with God depends our view of God and one way to think about who God is, is to think about what Go...

Church Life that Supports Spiritual Formation In this part of my conversation with Kyle Strobel, we consider the longing for depth of meaning and belonging. Many people are coming to recognize the thinness of their busy lives, which lack any real sense of transcendence, any space for self-examination and reflection, and any deep experience of belonging. We need a way of life that creates space for...

The Messiness of Spiritual Formation This is part 1 of my conversation with Kyle Strobel. One of the major themes of this episode is the messiness of prayer and the messiness of spiritual formation. We explore why this is and that the remedy is NOT just adding spiritual disciplines to your life.  Kyle Strobel is a systematic theologian who teaches spiritual theology for Talbot’s Institute for Spir...

A With-God Life    The heart of living as a disciple of Jesus is living a with-God life. This is fundamentally what it means to "walk by or with the Spirit" in Galatians 5:16. This is what Jesus taught us when he said "abide in me" (John 15:1-11).  This is the remedy for  our deepest problems. Book: Where Prayer Becomes Real https://amzn.to/3Wd2uOo   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed th...

Bonus Episode with Sam Sorbo A special bonus episode of the Bible in Life podcast featuring actress, author, speaker and homechooling advocate Sam Sorbo. Sam is married to actor Kevin Sorbo. They have raised three kids, whom Sam passionately homeschooled. Sam and Kevin recently released a new Christmas devotional titled Christmas for 40 Days: A Loving Celebration-   https://shop.sorbostudios.com/p...

A Key to Joy | Psalm 103   Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; 5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 6 Th...

What Does It Mean to Forgive? | Matthew 18:15-35   In a conversation with Peter, Jesus instructs us to forgive 70 times 7. He then tells a story that shows us what forgiveness actually means, and it's incredibly helpful. In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast John shares a sermon exploring how we deal with sin in the new family of Jesus and what it means to forgive.    Free 30 Page eBook to...

Why Melchizedek Matters | Hebrews 7 In the episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John preaches on Hebrews 7 and intriguing Bible character named Melchizedek. Why does author of Hebrews bring up Melchizedek and why does it matter for us today?   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time do...

What Does it Mean that Elders Must Manage Their Household Well? | 1 Timothy 3:4-5  4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)   In this episode of the Bible in Life John and Steven discuss what exactly it means that church leaders...

Why Rewards Matter | Rewards pt 4 In this episode of the Bible in Life podcast, John and Steven wrap up their discussion of rewards in heaven by exploring the question of why learning what the Bible says about rewards matters. Many of the passages where the idea of rewards shows up have to do with endurance: Matthew 5:10-12 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousne...

Are there Degrees of Rewards? | Rewards, pt. 3   Some passages, especially in the parables of Jesus such as the parable of the minas in Luke 19, seem to suggest that there are degrees of rewards. That is, some people get more than others.  But other Bible passages seem at odds with that.  So in the episode of the Bible in Life podcast, Steven and John wrestle with the question, Are there degrees o...