Discover the Word Podcast

Did you know that Jerusalem is the most frequently mentioned place named in the Bible? And if, as Bible geographer Dr. Jack Beck contends, place/location always matters, there's something extra special about Jerusalem in the Biblical story. Jerusalem is like no other city. And if you understand its uniqueness, you will understand not only all the attention it gets in the Bible but also why the sto...

Did you know that Jerusalem is the most frequently mentioned place named in the Bible? And if, as Bible geographer Dr. Jack Beck contends, place/location always matters, there's something extra special about Jerusalem in the Biblical story. Jerusalem is like no other city. And if you understand its uniqueness, you will understand not only all the attention it gets in the Bible but also why the sto...

If any Bible character lived a life of seemingly constant danger, it was David—and we feel the weight of that danger most clearly in many of his psalms. Psalm 30 was one of those psalms where David wrestled with his experiences of danger, but in retrospect. Explore with the group how David learned to trust God's long game through all the downs and ups of life, and how we can learn to trust God's h...

Do you give back to God for all He’s given you? Why or why not? How? Do you give to the church, support a missionary, donate to a nonprofit, recycle your possessions for others, share a meal, stop at a traffic light to help someone hungry? The practice of giving traces through the Old and New Testaments, outlining how God invites His people into a practice of generosity in both receiving and inves...

What distracts you? Is it always a bad thing? Are there specific distractions that can be negative? In a world of distractions, sometimes there is the need to focus on one thing—and the Bible reminds us of this on several occasions where the phrase “one thing” points us to issues and concerns that are deserving of our undistracted focus.   WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://...

Last week, we listened to some conversations the Discover the Word group had some time ago, entitled “Christmas Names of Jesus,” which focused on Isaiah 9:6. This week, Bill leads Elisa and Rasool and Vivian back into some conversations in which they consider the same idea of Christmas names but from a different text: Matthew 1. More...Christmas Names in this edition of Discover the Word.   WAYS T...

Isaiah provides us with more messianic prophecy than any other Old Testament prophet. It should be no surprise that, when He speaks of the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9:6, the names he gives to Messiah describe the nature of the God-man who was to come, and whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.   WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: htt...

Have you ever received a death sentence? Perhaps…we have many listeners from prisons in our world who cling to the hope of Jesus in the face of death. Some wrongly sentenced and unfairly treated. Some of us might be facing a literal death sentence of suffering in illness. Then, many of us experience a more figurative death sentence in terms of a call placed over our lives to commit to a cause, a p...

In today's world, we're facing a connection crisis. Despite being more digitally connected than ever, many people feel a deep sense of loneliness and disconnection. This crisis has been amplified by the pandemic, leading to increased stress and mental health issues. But what's at the root of this connection crisis, and how does it impact our spiritual lives? Cultivating deep growth is a lifelong j...

Our heavenly Father is the ultimate source of every good thing in our lives—and that alone should be reason enough to give thanks. However, when you read through the Bible, you discover that there are 68 times when the phrase “give thanks” appears. This exhortation to being intentionally thankful is what Bill Crowder wants the Discover the Word group to explore this week. Join Bill as he leads Mar...

Have you ever tried to put a puzzle together with the picture of the finished puzzle on the top of the box? Scripture gives us many aspects of God's design for marriage, and what the box top picture looks like of what He intends. Join the Discover the Word group as they explore God's view of marriage and the sacred covenant it is, and also how the world's view and Satan's lies can cause us to be f...

When we think about parables, we often immediately think of the short stories Jesus tells when he's trying to teach something. But Jesus didn't invent parables, he was leaning into his culture and tradition as he followed the example of many Old Testament authors. Join us on Discover the Word as we read a few Old Testament parables, and see how they help us connect our faith to our everyday lives....

Scholar and preacher Meghan Good joins the group for a two week journey called The Story of Scripture that outlines the narrative arch of the Bible. Beginning with Creation, explore how the Scriptures tell the story of God's strategy for healing that Creation, that will eventually end with the New Creation. You'll find that Meghan has an engaging way of presenting complex theological ideas in an a...

Scholar and preacher Meghan Good joins the group for a two week journey called The Story of Scripture that outlines the narrative arch of the Bible. Beginning with Creation, explore how the Scriptures tell the story of God's strategy for healing that Creation, that will eventually end with the New Creation. You'll find that Meghan has an engaging way of presenting complex theological ideas in an a...

It seems that, for almost any struggle we face in life that there is a psalm for that. For example if you're weary and downtrodden, feeling alone and insecure? This week the Discover the Word team looks at a Psalm that reminds you that you are not alone. King David was there as well, and he bears witness to his struggles and God’s faithfulness in Psalm 61. A song about where Real Security is found...

Recently, The Survey of American Life found that millions of men have dropped out of the workforce, colleges, dating, and friendships. Those who responded that they have no friends went from 3% in 1990 to 15% in 2021. And men are not only disappearing from relationships, but from the church as well. In this series of conversations, Rasool Berry and Dr. Maliek Blade lead the group into conversation...

What does it take to get better at just about anything? Practice right? Intentional practice. So, what does it look like to live out our faith in everyday life? Well, the Bible and Christian tradition have something to say about that! Join us on Discover the Word as we consider the responsibility we have to be active and grow in our spiritual lives. Specifically, we will look at a few spiritual ha...

What does it take to get better at just about anything? Practice right? Intentional practice. So, what does it look like to live out our faith in everyday life? Well, the Bible and Christian tradition have something to say about that! Join us on Discover the Word as we consider the responsibility we have to be active and grow in our spiritual lives. Specifically, we will look at a few spiritual ha...

What comes to mind when you hear the words “prophet” and “prophecy?” Often we think of someone who is a spiritual meteorologist who forecasts history and writes it down before it happens. But bottom line, prophets and prophetesses were God’s messengers, delivering a message from God that most times people weren’t very excited to hear. During this series, Dr. David Turner joins the Discover the Wor...

What comes to mind when you hear the words “prophet” and “prophecy?” Often we think of someone who is a spiritual meteorologist who forecasts history and writes it down before it happens. But bottom line, prophets and prophetesses were God’s messengers, delivering a message from God that most times people weren’t very excited to hear. During this series, Dr. David Turner joins the Discover the Wor...

Filled with faith, hope, love, and promise, wise King Solomon begins in the right place. But his life got increasingly more and more complicated, and by the end, his choices put him (and the nation of Israel) in a very different spot. Explore lessons we can learn from the cautionary tale of the man we often call "wise King Solomon."   WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.d...

The Psalms are not a random collection of ancient poems, but are an intentionally organized testimony of a faithful God who hears all who cry out to him in praise or pain, wisdom or confusion, in confidence or doubt. The narrative arc of this anthology is not only about past movements of God in Israel, but offers future promises about where all of Creation is headed—toward a new reality where we d...

The Psalms are not a random collection of ancient poems, but are an intentionally organized testimony of a faithful God who hears all who cry out to him in praise or pain, wisdom or confusion, in confidence or doubt. The narrative arc of this anthology is not only about past movements of God in Israel, but offers future promises about where all of Creation is headed—toward a new reality where we d...

The Psalms are not a random collection of ancient poems, but are an intentionally organized testimony of a faithful God who hears all who cry out to him in praise or pain, wisdom or confusion, in confidence or doubt. The narrative arc of this anthology is not only about past movements of God in Israel, but offers future promises about where all of Creation is headed—toward a new reality where we d...

The Psalms are not a random collection of ancient poems, but are an intentionally organized testimony of a faithful God who hears all who cry out to him in praise or pain, wisdom or confusion, in confidence or doubt. The narrative arc of this anthology is not only about past movements of God in Israel, but offers future promises about where all of Creation is headed—toward a new reality where we d...