Church Theology

In today's episode, we try to convince you  never to read a Bible verse! Wait, what? That's right. Never read a Bible verse on its own, but always in context.

In this episode, we look at the matter of tone (and mood). What exactly do we mean by "tone"? And how does a passage's tone affect how we read and understand it?

The Bible is not one monolithic type of writing. Instead, it is made up of various type of writing styles called genres. So what are the different genres in scripture? And how do they impact how we read our Bibles?

Kirk and Dan sit down from some bonus episodes supplementing the sermon series on prayer. In these two episodes, Kirk and Dan consider additional hindrances we might face in the discipline of prayer, and how we can work to overcome these. Find Dan's original sermon on The Hindrances to Prayer here .

Kirk and Dan sit down from some bonus episodes supplementing the sermon series on prayer. In these two episodes, Kirk and Dan consider additional hindrances we might face in the discipline of prayer, and how we can work to overcome these. Find Dan's original sermon on The Hindrances to Prayer here .

Kirk was privileged to sit down for a conversation with one of CrossWay Milwaukee's missionaries, Jeff, who serves in Albania. In this episode, we get to learn more about Jeff and his family, how the Lord called them to cross-cultural missions, what their ministry in Albania looks like, and ways we can be praying for them. Jeff and Meredith received the call to missions while they were members of...

In this episode, Kirk and Dan explore the importance of reading scripture according to its original, historical context before moving to our own ("Their World First"). How does understanding the historical context of scripture help us read the Bible more faithfully?

In this episode we talk about the importance of our overall disposition to scripture when it comes to Bible interpretation. Namely, we must place ourselves under the authority and scrutiny of scripture. In this way, scripture is like no other book we read. It "reads" us just as we read it. And this disposition is of vital importance if we are to read and understand scripture rightly. Reading scrip...

We're kicking off a new series on how to read and understand the Bible. In this inaugural episode, we overview the "pathway" we should take if we are to interpret the Bible properly and faithfully.

This episode is an audio recording of CrossWay Community Church's Philosophy of Ministry , which can be accessed here.

Kirk and Dan finish out their series through Revelation with some reflections on the final passage, Revelation 22:6b-21. Finally, the end with some overall observations and takeaways on the book as a whole.

Revelation 21:9-22:6a presents John's vision of the new creation -- God's new Jerusalem, new temple, and new Eden. In this episode, Kirk and Dan walk through some of the overall details of this passage (0:00-46:05). Then Kirk closes the podcast with some application reflections (46:05-1:03:15).

In this episode, Dan has Kirk walk us through Revelation 20:11-20:8, the visions of the Great White Throne judgment and the introduction of the new creation.

In this series of three episodes, we address the matter of the 1,000-year reign, also known as the millennium, as expressly mentioned in Revelation 20. In so doing, we offer a more detailed case for the interpretation known most popularly as amillennialism. Finally, in this third episode, we consider other New Testament arguments against a literal, futurist, premillennialist position and in f...

In this series of three episodes, we address the matter of the 1,000-year reign, also known as the millennium, as expressly mentioned in Revelation 20. In so doing, we offer a more detailed case for the interpretation known most popularly as amillennialism. In this second episode, we look specifically at Revelation 20:1-10 and examine the case for amillennialism from this text itself. To acce...

In this series of three episodes, we address the matter of the 1,000-year reign, also known as the millennium, as expressly mentioned in Revelation 20. In so doing, we offer a more detailed case for the interpretation known most popularly as amillennialism. In the first episode, we overview the four main positions as it relates to the millennium: (1) dispensational premillennialism, (2) histo...

In this episode, Kirk and Dan walk us through the three scenes of Revelation 19:11-21. This passage zooms in on the return of Christ at his second coming to judge and destroy the two beasts and those who align with them.

In Revelation 17:1-18, we saw a vision of Babylon, or the Great Prostitute's, judgment. In this episode, Kirk and Dan continue with part 2 of that judgment in Revelation 18:1-19:10. Whereas in chapter 17, the Harlot's judgment was depicted in visionary form, now in 18:1-19:10 we hear a chorus of songs -- both lament and praise -- in response to Babylon's fall.

In this episode, Kirk and Dan walk through the vision of Revelation 17:1-18, depicting the Great Prostitute, or Babylon, who rides on the beast with its seven heads (kings) and ten horns (kings).

In this episode, Kirk walks us through the bowl judgments in Revelation 15:5-16:21. We consider the ways this passage communicates the outpouring of God's righteous vengeance on the oppresses of his people and unrepentant sinful humanity.

In this episode, Dan joins Kirk to lead us through an overview of the entire section, Revelation 11:19-15:4, on the seven visions ("And I saw..." x7). First, Dan gives us some overview of the section, helping us get our bearings. And then we read through the entire passage with some commentary and drama along the way.

Kirk and Dan tackle the last 3 "and I saw" visions of Revelation 11:19-15:4. These three, along with the two visions of Revelation 14:1-13, unveil to us the "end game," the contrasting final destinies, for those who worship the lamb vs. those who worship the beast. We are empowered for patient endurance as we look forward to the full completion and final manifestation of God's salvation through ju...

In this episode, Kirk and Dan cover the second monster and his mark in Revelation 13:11-18, the sealed 144,000 who sing the song of the redeemed in 14:1-5, and the message of the three angels -- a message of doom and reversal for those marked by the monster -- in 14:6-13.

In this episode, Dan joins Kirk to break down some of the overall structure of Revelation 12-15 and the role of the key characters in the book of Revelation: the dragon, beast, false prophet, and harlot. After that, they dive into the text of Revelation 13:1-10 to discuss the details of this first beast who rises from the sea. Passage structure available here.

In this episode, Dan joins Kirk to talk through Revelation 12, as well as some of our overall approach to handling this section spanning from Revelation 11:19-15:4. We discuss the structure and plot of this section, as well as work through some additional details from the three scenes in chapter 12.