Four Oaks Midtown Podcast

If you read a lot of books by one author you find that, after a while, you begin to think like that author. As you recognize familiar patterns in your favorite authors you develop a sense not only of the kinds of stories they tell, but the way they tell those stories. When we immerse ourselves in Scripture we get insight into the kinds of stories God tells. We learn about one of God’s favorite sto...

Jesus gives us a few points of logic - and then applications - as to why we should not be anxious.

God gives his people visions in order to help them see by faith a future not yet realized. It’s been said that, “If you wish to build a ship, do not divide the men into teams and send them to the forest to cut wood. Instead, teach them to long for the vast and endless sea.” Visions utilize images and symbols in order to cause us to long for the vast and endless sea of God’s future. Old creation, m...

The book of Zechariah unsettles us with strange visions of seven-eyed stones, flying scrolls, and conquering horns. We prefer the safe and familiar pastures of the gospels with Jesus walking, talking, and relating to the world in ways we deem “normal”. But the gospels feature exorcisms, miraculous healings, and angelic visitations. The Apostle Paul speaks of the third heaven, dining with demons, j...

Jesus teaches more about how to pray - asking for our daily bread, being able to forgive, and for when our hearts are tempted.

Jesus teaches us how to pray - he gives an example - and this sermon goes through the beginning part of how Jesus models us to pray.

The famous Christmas carol “Joy to the World” contains excellent theology: “No more let sins and sorrows grow/ Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow/ Far as the curse is found.” This is Genesis language. This song is about the gospel. The redemption of Christ to undo the curse of the fall as far as the curse is found. Revelation 22, the final chapter of the final book i...

This sermon talks through Matthew 6:1-8 and 16-18 and how Jesus tells us to give, pray, and fast. It addresses the ways in which the hypocrites do these things and what Jesus asks of us when we are practicing these things - the right ways in which to practice.

The Bible begins with creation, a husband and wife, and a garden surrounded by rivers and precious stones and ends the same way: new creation, Christ and his bride, and a garden-turned-city built with precious stones and flowing with living water. God fulfills his plan in Christ by the Spirit to reconcile his people to himself. He will be their God and they will be his people. Communion with God i...

Revelation 20 may be the most controversial chapter in the most controversial book in the Bible. The reason for its controversy lies in Revelation 20:4’s reference to a reign of the saints with Christ for a thousand years. We’ll dive into that discussion in this episode, but it’s important to recognize that when brilliant theologians across 2,000 years cannot come to a consensus on a particular ve...

Revelation is an unveiling of Jesus, but Jesus is absent for much of the latter portions of Revelation. The last time we saw Jesus was as a child, destined to rule the nations with an iron rod, swept up by God from the clutches of the Dragon in Revelation 12. Here in Revelation 19, that child has matured into a man ready to claim his destiny as King of kings and Lord of lords. But this grown Chris...

Jesus tackles the 6th and 7th commandments in order to reframe our understanding of the law of God.

Revelation startles us because of how vividly it describes the wrath of God in history. Our modern world sections off the spiritual from the historical. History deals with the real world “out there” while spirituality deals with our inner lives. But Christ came into the world not merely into our hearts. His kingdom ripples out and effects the powers and principalities both invisible and visible. C...

Jesus came to fulfill the Law and Prophets and sets a perspective for the rest of the sermon on the mount. 

Peter shows how the resurrection of Jesus makes sense of the world.

Revelation 17 opens with shocking imagery: a drunk prostitute riding on a seven-headed and ten-horned beast holding a cup of wine. But the greatest shock is the prostitute’s identity: she is Jerusalem drunk with the wine of martyr blood. Her adultery is spiritual: she has forsaken her true husband Christ for the dragon and his Beast, the Roman empire. God will judge her for her unfaithfulness, but...

Revelation moves in waves. It pushes forward to a certain point, then recedes, then pushes forward again onto the shore except this time a bit further. We’ve seen seven seals, seven trumpets, and in Revelation 16 seven bowls of God’s wrath. Each succession of sevens overlaps, but also progresses forward toward God’s climactic judgement of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. We often think of God as trigger-happy...

Mark paints a picture of Jesus entering Jerusalem as a victorious king. 

The book of Revelation begins with the glorified Christ and ends with the glorified church. This helps us understand the narrative arc of Revelation. Christ’s bride shares in his glorious inheritance by following him through the path of faithful witness and suffering, but her blood does not spill in vain. God’s martyrs ascend from their earthly suffering to their heavenly throne. Martyrs from gene...

Jesus encourages Christians to embrace their identity as salt and light in the world. 

Revelation 13 unveils for us the great dragon behind the scenes that stands behind every political, spiritual, and social force against the church. This is anything but fiction. But the great hope Revelation gives is this: the Beastly powers of the age can inflict damage, but cannot ultimately destroy the church. This is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. This is Understanding Revel...

We look at the final Beatitudes which present a pro-active stance toward life in God’s kingdom. True spirituality does not exist detached from our relationships with others. Mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and even persecution all assume a life connected to others. But in a fallen world relationships carry a significant amount of risk. As Charles Shultz once said, “I love mankind. It’s people...

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Those famous final lines from the classic 90s movie The Usual Suspects describe the state of modern evangelicals today. We simply do not believe he exists or acts within the world. But Satan lies behind all forces of darkness. He veils himself behind false religion, evil regimes, and corrupt system of power as he s...

Jesus  begins his famous sermon on the mount with a serious of well-known but strange sayings: the Beatitudes

Things get wild as two witnesses breathe fire against a Beast then die only to be raised to life three and a half days later. What does it all mean? Find out in this episode