Four Oaks Midtown Podcast

First week of Advent

Join us as we debunk popular Christian myths and take shots at people who eat wings with forks. There's no better way to pre-game for Christmas than with our podcast. 

Paul and Bryan start a new Christmas series to give you hours of entertainment and life-changing moments for this holiday season. Gather your family around a fire and play this podcast as loud as you can. This week we talk about how the Old Testament points to Jesus. You won't read the Christmas story the same way!

Joseph mourns Jacob and the end of Joseph's life

We wrap up our Hosea series with a look at God's mercy and love for sinners. Catch up on all past episodes of the Hosea series here: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Jacob blesses his sons

Bryan and Paul discuss the topic of singing in the church and how it shapes who we are. Also Bryan attempts to sing and it does not go well. 

How do we understand God's judgement in light of his mercy? Hosea 12-13 gives us the answer. And it's all about Jesus.

Jacob blesses Manasseh and Ephraim

Preaching is essential to the church, but maybe not for the reasons you think. What makes preaching different than a TED talk or motivational speaking? In one word: God. God speaks through the preaching of his Word to change us on the spot. Bryan and Paul trace the origins of preaching in the OT as well as how to listen to preaching. What more would you expect from a podcast called That'll Preach?

It's popular today to speak about spirituality in individualistic terms. It's all about you and Jesus. Well it's not just about that. It's also about you and the body of Jesus -- the church. The New Testament does not have a category for a Christian disconnected from a local church. Bryan and Paul dive into why being part of a local church forms us into mature and wise people.

Jacob blesses Pharaoh and Joseph administers food in the famine.

We toss the word "hope" around with sentimentality and fluff. But biblical hope is durable. It does not bend under pressure because it is founded on the character of God. God offers a hope for his wayward people that is greater than they could ask or think. And that same hope is offered to us.

Jacob goes to Egypt

Church creeds are there to help us draw on the rich tradition of our faith to make us better readers of Scripture. If we were on a deserted island with just our Bibles we would probably come up with strange interpretations. If you don't believe this just look at Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. We believe that Scripture is the highest authority, but not the only authority. God has given us the chu...

Our series on Hosea continues as we look at the connection between idolatry and exile. We may not bow before clay figures, but we still have idols today. God wants to pull us away from them so that our joy might be restored.

Does the thought of sharing your faith make you break out into hives? Fear not, Bryan and Paul are here to help. You don't need to be a biblical scholar or a world-class debater to be a faithful witness. You can be a normal person who trusts in the power of God's Word and Spirit. This is evangelism for normal people.

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers.

Our Hosea series continues with a question: do we really want to be healed? God's mercy is greater than we can imagine, but our pride keeps us from what we need. We cannot receive healing on our terms. We must submit to what God has revealed in his word.

We are creatures of habit. The question is what habits do we cultivate? Bryan and Paul talk about the importance of liturgy. Liturgy has been one of the primary tools throughout church history of forming Christians through repetition, ritual, and reflection. Christianity takes practice. It takes thoughtful discipline. And it takes actually being around other Christians doing the same things.

Joseph tests his brothers.

We continue our Hosea series with a sober warning to leaders. We also look at why we should be careful in applying OT Israel passages to our nation today.

We know God is our Father, but rarely do we consider the church as our mother. But this is the historic position. Cyprian, a third century bishop, once said, "No one can have God as Father who does not have the church as Mother." Now before your Roman Catholic alarms go off, let's remember that John Calvin quoted Cyprian favorably. Mr. Reformer himself believed that the church is God's tool for ra...

The gathering of brothers in Joseph's story.

Our series on Hosea continues with a look at how God's discipline demonstrates his love. This series is meant to help you get familiar with the themes and ideas of the OT as well as remind you of God's unchanging character.