Christian Formation

We are giving people an overview of Luke so that the book of Luke is more approachable—how to read it and how to get the most out of it! Chiastic structure to Luke-Acts mentioned in the episode: Luke :: Rome - Galilee - Samaria - Judea - Jerusalem - Cross Acts :: Cross - Jerusalem - Judea - Samaria - Galilee - Rome Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@provi...

In this episode, we give you a fly over of the book of Mark—how to read it, what to look for, and what to think about when practically applying the book of Mark to your life. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

As we transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we discuss why these episodes in the next season will be helpful, offer some insight into how our words can or can't be a self-fulfilling prophecy, and even chat about how to read the Sermon on the Mount as we look at the book of Matthew. Join us as we dive into these topics together. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram...

The last episode, we brought on a guest—Debbie Blank—to discuss her literal view of the Bible... a different view than what we've been teaching this past semester. On this episode, we take 5 steps back and talk about  why  it is important to have a framework before reading the Bible. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

For the last couple of months, we’ve focused on the Old Testament, how to read it, better understand it, and how to think through tough questions that arise. On this episode, we bring on Debbie Blank,   president of Living Word Ministries ,  to discuss a different way to read the Bible—reading it literally. Disclaimer: Providence Church does not hold the view that Christians should read the Bible...

Throughout the Old Testament (OT) it seems like some sins really make God upset, and they upset Him quickly. With other sins in the OT, it seems as though God isn’t that bothered by them. Uzzah touched the ark, and God struck him dead. David and others had multiple wives, and it seems like God doesn’t mind. Maybe He even condones it. In light of all these instances, how do we make sense of God han...

One common critique of the Old Testament (OT) is that it presents a mean God... a wrathful God. In the OT, God kills cities and nations… but isn’t Jesus all about love? Aren’t we supposed to be grace-filled and compassionate? How do we make sense of all the judgment in the OT? What does that say about the character of God? Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formati...

The age old question... "Does God change His mind?" As we've been trekking through the Old Testament, we've asked ourselves that question a time or two, especially when presented with scripture that says, "God relented..." (Exodus 32:14). In this episode, we discuss whether God changes His mind and why we pray if we think that He doesn't change His mind.  Connect...

How does the Bible communicate about creation? And what do we learn from the creation story that shapes our view of God? In this episode, we discuss common beliefs about creation and the interpretations of Genesis 1. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

In this episode, we discuss the order of the books in the Old Testament to better understand the overall story. Questions like, "What is the storyline of the Old Testament? How are the books organized? Where do I start reading?" will be discussed in this episode.  Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

Every year, our church observes the season of advent—or the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day where we prepare our hearts for the birth of our Savior.  In this episode, we look at the idea of Advent and why celebrating Advent is helpful for us as Christians. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

We finish our mini series on themes in the Old Testament by looking at the theme of "priests" that flows throughout the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament. We ask questions like,  "Who were the priests in the Old Testament that reveal the priestly role?" and "Why don't we have priests today... or do we?" Join us as we unpack this theme together. Conn...

We continue our discussion of themes in the Old Testament by diving into the theme of "Exile." In this episode, we discuss the theme of exile and how it not only impacts our study of the Old Testament, but also how it impacts our lives today. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

Christians often refer to Jesus as the Son of God. But the idea of God’s Son restoring creation by defeating the enemies of God is a theme that is traced throughout the entire Bible. In fact, it is the central conflict presented that needs to be resolved in the Scriptures. In this episode, we examine the theme of Sonship, how it is traced throughout Scripture, and why that is pivotal to our relati...

Today, we are doing something different on the Christian formation podcast. We're sharing an episode of Knowing God, a podcast aimed to help you to know the Word of God, so that you may ultimately know God hosted by Andrew Rutten, co-paster and planter of Providence Church.  In this episode, Andrew reads through Colossians chapter 2 verse 7 and challenges us to question whether we are planted...

In this episode, we continue our mini series on Biblical themes and discuss the "King and Kingdom" theme we see throughout the Old Testament. We'll chat about what this theme looks like, how to recognize it, and how to apply it to what you're reading. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

We hear time and time again from pastors and ministry workers that "God is with us! He won't leave us"... but how do we know that to be true? In this episode, we discuss covenants, how they are God's promises to us, and how they give us security in knowing fundamental truths about Him and His character. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formati...

This is the beginning of our mini series, exploring different biblical themes that help us understand the story of God. In Genesis 3-11, we see the world’s conflict in God’s story. People are sinful, broken, and need restoration. Genesis 12 is God beginning the restoration work on humanity through a promise to Abraham. God's promise is centered around 3 areas: people , place , and presence . ...

The Old Testament is often thought of as confusing, hard to understand, and difficult to follow. Sadly, that can be all but true if we don't know the full story. Thankfully, earlier this week, we realized that there is a cheat sheet to remember the stories leading to Jesus. This cheat sheet lies in the place many of us tend to skip—a genealogy. In this episode, we look at Matthew 1; Just as a...

In this episode, we look at what the prophets are and how prophecies prepare us for Christ's arrival in the New Testament. Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

This episode looks at what wisdom literature is, how to read it, and common stumbling blocks for people when interpreting wisdom literature.  Connect With Us providenceomaha.org | Instagram | Facebook Email Us formation@providenceomaha.org

Many of us have read poetry at one time or another, but not all of us leave with a feeling of understanding. In fact, many walk away from poetry scratching their heads wondering, "So... what did that mean?" While Hebrew poetry isn't the exact same as common, modern types of poetry, it can be difficult to read at times. However, although it takes some practice, we would argue that th...

One of the most confusing parts of the Old Testament is the laws. We might wonder how to understand them, whether they are relevant for us today, and if we should care about laws that seem to be obsolete. With all these questions and doubts, it can cause us to ignore Old Testament law or gloss over it without a second thought.  But what if we are misreading what God intends? What if God’s Old Test...

All people are impacted and captivated by stories. However, we can venture to say that not many people are hankering to read ancient stories from people groups all over the world. However, our Scriptures begin with a story and continue, with story after story.  In this episode, we ask ourselves, "How do these ancient religious stories from people in the Middle East impact my Christian life to...

The Old Testament (OT) is often seen as hard-to-read stories that are out of date and boring. With this view, many Christians today don’t engage with ⅔ of our Scriptures.  What if this has aided a shallow faith? What if we are missing a lot about who God is because of this problem?  This episode aims to answer some common questions about the OT and draw people into seeing the OT as profitable and...