Discover the Word Podcast

Receive   It may be one of the most well-known verses on confession and forgiveness in all of Scripture, but what does 1 John 1:9 mean? And how can it impact the way you live both day to day and from here to eternity? As you consider this Bible verse phrase by phrase, may this crucial statement penned by Jesus’ disciple, John, become a reality to you. 1. If we confess . . . 2. . . . . our sin . ....

Ever wonder about the cultural norms left unsaid in the Bible? Discovering the collectivist perspective will help you better understand Scripture.  Receive   If we read the Bible exclusively from our Western individualist point of view, we may miss or misunderstand cultural values everybody in the ancient Mediterranean world understood. As this week’s guest, Randy Richards, reminds us, the values...

How does our Western/individualistic perspective limit our understanding of the Bible that was written from an Eastern/collectivist perspective? Discover some cultural norms left unsaid in Scripture.    Receive   As we read Scripture through the lens of our Western culture, this week’s guest, Randy Richards, reminds us that we may miss or misread some key values embedded in the Ancient Near Easter...

Struggling with worry and anxiety? No matter what you’re struggling with, discover how to cast your cares on God. Receive   It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with worries, cares, and anxious thoughts, but you’re not meant to carry all those burdens on your own. Jesus said not to worry, and the apostle Paul said to cast all your cares on God.   What are you worried about?   What may be hindering you fr...

The apostle Paul often used the theme of running in his letters. Discover what he might have been trying to tell us through his running metaphor. Receive   The apostle Paul often used the metaphor of running a race to remind his readers, and us, how important it is to run our race well. In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul encouraged believers to run away from sin and temptation and to run...

In a sense, you could say that the entire Bible is about God’s desire to dwell with his people. Immanuel—God with us. Experiencing God’s presence is what we were created for. And we are promised in Scripture that if we seek God, we will find Him. But how do we experience the presence of God when we don’t see Him or feel like He’s with us? Well, in this series of conversations with Dr. David Mathew...

What did Jesus mean when He told Nicodemus that he must be “born again”? Join us as we explore Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. Discover why the concept was so difficult for Nicodemus to grasp and why we also sometimes struggle with the truth that is so central to the Christian faith. Receive   Jesus often said things that unsettled the very people who thought they understood God best. When He...

The word “trees” shows up more than 200 times in the Bible. Discover why it may not just be “the heavens that declare the glory of God” but also trees. Receive   The Bible mentions trees more than 200 times throughout the Old and New Testament. From Genesis to Psalms to Matthew and into Revelation, it seems as though many significant theological events in the Bible are marked by a tree. As we cons...

The Bible is filled with feasts and tables set for God’s people. Discover the significance of these meals and gatherings and why they still matter today. Receive   God delights in setting a table for His people. From the last supper Jesus shared with His disciples before His sacrificial death to the meals He shared with His disciples after His glorious resurrection, there are various lovely moment...

Whether it’s in the Garden of Eden, Egypt, the wilderness, or a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee, God knows how to provide for His people. Let’s learn about the tables and meals in Scripture. Receive   How lovely that the story of God happens around tables. From the farm-to-table picnic of lavish eating in the Garden of Eden, to the “fast food,” rushed meal during the first Passover, to God’s...

Discover the Jewish writings between the Testaments, known as the Apocrypha, and why they still matter for Christians today. Receive   The books in the Apocrypha may be a mystery to us, but when we consider that they played a role in shaping Judaism during Jesus’ time and the apostle Paul’s life and that they would have influenced the early church, it may be worth learning about these ancient text...

 What are you conquering—or being conquered by? Explore how God’s surprising plan for His people to both conquer and be conquered is revealed throughout the Bible! Receive   The word “conqueror” may make you feel uncomfortable for various reasons. But what if the Bible’s idea of conquest is better than we could ever imagine? As we ponder what it means for us to be more than conquerors through Him...

Conquerors can be scary—but God’s power is different. Discover from Genesis to Revelation how He makes us more than conquerors! Receive   The word “conqueror” can stir up many mixed feelings and rightfully so. But the idea of conquest is found in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. What if instead of avoiding the complicated topic, we pondered how the Bible points to a better idea of conquering?...

 Overwhelmed by life’s headlines? 1 Corinthians 15 points to the news that truly matters: Jesus is risen! Receive   Even though we live in an information-saturated world, we don’t have to be overwhelmed and distracted by all the news and headlines fighting for our attention. The apostle Paul wanted to remind the Corinthian church not to lose sight of what truly matters in life. The greatest good n...

Come along with us as we continue tracing Jesus’ final steps in Scripture toward the crucifixion. Remember what He did for you by exploring where He stopped to speak with women and criminals, where He cared for His mother, died on the cross, and was buried. Follow our Savior’s journey to save us—and embrace how this can impact our lives today. Receive   Christians once retraced Jesus’ final steps,...

Have you ever traced Jesus’ final steps in Scripture toward the crucifixion? Come along with us as we explore where Jesus prayed alone, was betrayed and arrested, tried and condemned, mocked, and carried His cross with Simon’s help. Let these moments in the Bible help you experience our Savior’s journey to save us. Receive   Early Christian pilgrims once walked the path Jesus took to the cross, st...

Friendships are an essential part of our lives but many of us struggle to build healthy ones. Rediscover how friendships can be nurtured by exploring Jesus’ friendship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Receive Jesus demonstrated the importance of friendship throughout the Gospels. His relationship with the Bethany siblings—Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—provides a great example of how much we need friend...

The battle for contentment is one of life’s biggest challenges—even for followers of Christ. And that battle for contentment runs headlong into how we view money. What we use to purchase things. The phrase “silver and gold” appears in the scriptures no less than 58 times and we want this week to examine a handful of those texts to try and get some wisdom about money in general and silver and gold...

Several times in the Bible, we read that what is impossible for man is possible for God. What does this mean in various settings? Is making the impossible possible a matter of faith? Character? God’s power? What might be dangerous about the possibility for humans? How can we understand and fully live within the boundaries of the possible while stretching to experience God’s power in the impossible...

Being afraid of something doesn’t sound preferable, but throughout the Bible we see benefits from fearing the Lord. Find out what that can look like for us today and what we’ll experience when we do! Receive   The fear of the Lord is the starting place for wisdom and it leads to a never-ending friendship with a loving God. Scripture reveals that fearing the Lord is intended to comfort us not to sc...

What happens when people “fear the Lord” in a healthy way? Explore how this can lead to wisdom and relationship with God! Receive   The Bible’s wisdom books remind us again and again that the fear of the Lord is where real wisdom begins—and that’s the kind of wisdom we need for everyday life. From big decisions to ordinary moments, we all need God’s perspective to help us navigate what’s in front...

We want to live wisely, but that can seem impossible at times. Discover what the Bible means when it says that wisdom begins with “the fear of the Lord.” Receive   What does it look like for you to grow in wisdom? Scripture invites you to begin by fearing the Lord—by learning to revere Him for who He truly is and letting that reverence shape your daily choices.   Reflect   Read the verses connecte...

The Bible is a book of invitations, and in this series, we will explore such invitations in the form of "let us" statements inviting us to join in some aspect of the life of the Christ follower. From worship to purity to endurance to love, these invitations welcome us to live with and for our Lord. Receive   After exploring some Let Us invitation in the letter to the Hebrews in our last study, is...

Have you ever noticed that the phrase “let us...” appears thirteen times in the book of Hebrews? Join us as we explore why this phrase was important to the author and how it invites us to walk with Jesus! Receive   Join together with other believers and walk with Jesus through a series of five “let us” invitations from the book of Hebrews: let us hold fast to our faith, let us approach God in pray...

What happens when God’s people worship other things? Find out as we continue exploring the wayward tribe of Jacob’s son Dan with archaeologist Dr. Jonathan Greer.   Receive  The Danites focus on God but they distort their worship of Him. By subordinating Him to other things, establishing their own version of religion, and lacking justice, they actually keep themselves from God. While their story r...