Gospel Rant

BRAND NEW SUMMER SERIES STARTS NOW.  What, in my opinion, are the Top 10 prayers in the entire Old Testament? It is a very difficult exercise. So much of the Old Testament is prayers. But there are a few that stand out to me. My main criteria is that the prayer manifests something about the innate unique characteristics of God Himself that must have been revealed to the one praying. I give more we...

This is the final of 16 shows on the amazing letter to the Hebrews. The author of Hebrews is writing this very sophisticated homily to Hebrew Christians sometime in the late 50s to mid 60’s CE. It is still an infant church, maybe a decade or two old, and had just survived disruptive expulsion and injustices due to their virulent faith. But make no mistake—persecution is coming and far worse than b...

Welcome to Gospel Rant and God’s Love for the Unlovable Show. We are in the last stages of our journey through the book of Hebrews: Chapter 12. In the end, says the author of Hebrews, if you want to stop your ongoing spiritual drift, if you want to stop spiritual dullness and be free from shame and guilt, you need faith. If you want to feel more that Jesus adores you as much as the Father loves th...

Welcome to Gospel Rant and God’s Love for the Unlovable Show. We are in the last stages of our journey through the book of Hebrews: Hebrews 11. In the end, says the author of Hebrews, if you want to stop your ongoing drift, if you want to stop spiritual dullness and be free from shame and guilt, you need faith. Well you’ve no doubt heard that before, right? We are saved by grace through faith—righ...

Hey Dr. Bill Senyard here with God’s love for the unlovable and Gospel Rant podcast. Welcome to my series on the book of Hebrews. We will knock out the important  Chapter 10 in this show. Often scholars emphasize the differences between the effectiveness of the temple in the Old Covenant and the work of Jesus in the New Covenant. Chapter 10 is about that for sure, but I am going to suggest that th...

Welcome to God’s love for the unlovable and Gospel Rant Podcast. We are going through the Book of Hebrews. Here’s the question for this show. Can you lose your salvation? And if you answer yes, what do you do or not do to cause that? Can you get back to faith? If you answer no, how do you control bad behavior? Heb 6 is one of the most controversial sections in the Bible. Curious? Check it out. Wel...

Hey Dr. Bill Senyard here with Gospel App ministries and Gospel Rant Podcast. Thanks for listening. We have a lot to cover today, two chapters, 8 &9. They represent a single argument or sermon. Very important. Very relevant today. We will dip into some weeds, but the punch line is golden. Review. From what we have seen in previous shows, the prime targeted audience of the book of Hebrews is Me...

So who is Melchizedek? Context? In Gen 14, Abraham had just won a surprising, miraculous military victory and is headed home. Two Kings came out to meet him in the King’s Valley (west of Jerusalem?). The King of Sodom, a picture of unrighteousness, self-focus, arrogance, hey, what about me? Attitude—who had already been defeated by the army that Abraham just defeated with 318 men—oh the shame and...

I am very concerned about the well-being of teens and tweens today. Frustrated parents, we need big time help. I mean Captain Obvious right? Per the CDC, suicide and homicide rates (10-24) are the highest they have been in decades (since 1968). A shocking 42% of adolescents are experiencing sadness and hopelessness (up 50% from 2011)--57% of females. 22% of all students have considered attempting...

Today we dig into the entire concept of entering into God’s rest. Don’t think that it refers to relaxing here. This ain’t My Pillow. Nope, that’s for heaven. Heaven’s going to be great, this ain’t it. Is this important? Yeah, the author of Hebrews starts off this section with a stark warning to the Jewish Christians in Rome (likely). Phobeomai! Beware lest---be afraid if you miss this… Defcon 1. D...

Welcome to the Gospel Rant. Hebrews assumes that we Christians are, in spite of what we say, here still on planet earth for a reason only secondarily for our own success and well-being. Face it, heaven would be so much better. No we have a grand celestial eternal purpose, modeled by Jesus and Moses. We are here to be part of the salvation story of others. We don’t redeem anyone. But somehow, what...

Hebrews assumes that we Christians are, in spite of what we might say, afraid of death. It's a brain thing. To accomplish God’s high Kingdom goals—meaning salvation for others, He requires and even ordains the testing, trials, suffering, loss, and sometimes even death of his beloved children—in order to rescue and save others. We Americans might hate this plan. But the template is Jesus, who willi...

Hey Dr. Bill Senyard here. Welcome to God’s love for the unlovable. We are going through the Book of Hebrews. It is very unique and for the most part, poorly covered by most pulpits. Why? Well you will find out again in this show. The Greek word for righteous and righteousness is used 8x in Hebrews. It is implied in many other places. Here’s the thing. We in the West have wildly misunderstood what...

Welcome to The Rabboni. This new biblical historical fiction tells of the long-lost journals of the Apostle Matthew. It is 73CE, Matthew had finally completed his biography of the life of Jesus. Now, he and a colorful team of men and women, circumcised and uncircumcised, followed the dangerous missionary charge of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Together, they boarded Roman s...

Is there such a thing as God-ordained persecution for Jesus-followers? Isn't that a bad thing? How could that be the will of a good father? Great questions. I agree and yet the author of Hebrews seems to see it more clearly than we modern Christians. We must get back to this awareness.  It seems that the author of Hebrews knew that persecution was coming for his listeners—and that is not Plan B, i...

There is no more pervasive topic in Hebrews than persecution. Not just that it is a possibility for the follower of Jesus. It is Plan A. It is the way God has designed this. I may not like it—by the way—I don’t—but I don’t have God’s capacity to see—not even close. It is not a surprise to me that we don’t hear much about this today. And I am really sure that this is not a welcomed topic.  All I am...

What's up with all of the references in Hebrews to angels? You may be surprised. Likely, there was a very popular jewish mysticism practice that was drawing Jewish Christians away from the gospel. Don't just think of this as a history lesson. It's shadows are alive and well today in Christianity.  Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and i...

Drift happens! In this second show in our new series on Hebrews, we are going to look at Hebrews 1:1 all the way to 2:4, skipping the section on angels which we will cover in the next show. Very interesting stuff. So today, three questions. What is our biggest problem ? Why do we do it? How do we stop it? Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.c...

This is the first show in Gospel Rants new series Hebrews. All institutions have a life cycle, from birth to death. Churches do as well. Most don't even realize that it is happening. The author of Hebrews gives very strong warnings about it. Maybe it is time to listen.  Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opp...

This is the last of the ten Power2Change videos for addicts who want to try something different and powerful. It is immersed in the Gospel, but informed by neuroscience and the Attachment theory. Addicts, watch all ten and let me know how it is going, Bill@gospel-app.com .   Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertisin...

Struggling and frustrated Christian, there is one thing in particular that is pushing against your recovery bak to you. It is not evil, or Satan-sourced. It is very human-post-fall. No point whining. There is something that you can access that will dramatically help. Check it out and let us know how it goes. Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudi...

Welcome to Gospel Rant. I am Dr. Bill Senyard. This is the eighth episode of my new series Power2Change. P2C8. Remember the classic SNL sketch about Blue Oyster Cult's “Don’t Fear The Reaper” with Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell? The punch line was about cowbells. Brother, sister, we need more cowbells. We are going to look at the spiritual equivalent of more cowbells, Joy. Don’t settle for le...

Dr. Bill Senyard here with Gospel App Ministries, Good Enough Parent, and the Gospel Rant Podcast. Look, here’s the thing. I think that we pro-life Christians can do a much better job in this arena. In fact, I wonder if we are shooting ourselves in the foot more that we want to admit. Many years ago, the comedian George Carlin lambasted pro-lifers for our inconsistencies—and poor messaging. To a l...

Christian, what are you really worth? It makes a real difference. In this show Dr. Bill shares of a major breakthrough in his life when he began to learn what he was really worth. Maybe this will help you in your difficult journey. Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us...

SPECIAL and IMPORTANT GOSPEL RANT! Crazy right? Dr. Bill Senyard here with Gospel App Ministries, Good Enough Parent and the Gospel Rant Podcast. 40 million people have stopped going to church in the last 30 years.  In 2019, the year before COVID, far more protestant churches closed than opened in the US. The average congregation size is now less than half what it was in 2000. 1/3 of churchgoers a...