Gospel Rant

I have three reasons why I think that this “Prophetic Marriage Gospel” approach best fits with the important Old Testament book. We will look at the first one. The metaphor of God marrying an unworthy bride is one of the most common metaphors of God’s salvation and redemption in the Old and New Testaments. Why have we overlooked it in this case?  Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Disco...

Is there a godly eros? Now we are going to start stepping on toes. But the answer is ‘yes’. Eros, intimate love—that includes but does not require physical sex— was not created after the Fall. It was around from the beginning. You may be surprised Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio...

There are a dozen ways to interpret the Song of Songs, but they fall into two broad camps. While they share many differences, they also share a common underlying philosophy that is borrowed from the Ancient Greeks and Romans—not the Bible. Curious????  Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at life...

Per the CDC, 42% of teenagers are experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. That is up 50% from 2011. Nearly 60% of women and 70% of LGBTQ+. We can blame some of that decline on Covid. But I am suggesting that most of it is due to an increasing sense of celestial loneliness. This is why the Song of Songs is so relevant and critical. We are in a crisis of isolation and sadness. ...

We are starting another podcast series on the provocative, wildly misunderstood Old Testament book, The Song of Songs of Solomon. While it is a book that gives us great examples of relational love, particularly marriage, it is mainly meant to be the greatest of all gospel presentations in the Old Testament. In it we are given a stunning view of the love of God toward us. Today with loneliness, iso...

Last of three-part, special and important Gospel Rant Valentine’s Day Series. This is for all of those lovers out there who want more, who aren’t feeling loved or lovable, or who have been hurt and feel like disappointments on this annual day for romance. Tina Turner asked a very good question, "What's love got to do with it?" We Christians have a pretty good answer, but we seem confused ourselves...

Second of three part, special and important Gospel Rant Valentine’s Day Series. This is for all of those lovers out there who want more, who aren’t feeling loved or lovable, or who have been hurt and feel like disappointments on this annual day for romance. Tina Turner asked a very good question, "What's love got to do with it?" We Christians have a pretty good answer, but we seem confused ourselv...

First of three part, special and important Gospel Rant Valentine’s Day Series. This is for all of those lovers out there who want more, who aren’t feeling loved or lovable, or who have been hurt and feel like disappointments on this annual day for romance. There is really good news out there for you—no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you. There is a way to begin to exp...

'Build your house on rock not sand', we are told. Building your house, your life, your identity and your faith on the principles that Jesus has been speaking about. Then you will be blessed when the storms come. So, don’t be angry. Don’t lust. Don’t get divorced. Don’t hoard money. Don’t pray to be noticed. Forgive like you want God to forgive you. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Th...

These three verses have been used as hammers to leverage good behavior from Christians for millennia. But is that what Jesus is talking about? At the crux of the three verses is the key question, Who enters the kingdom? Answer: The one who does the will of God. Do you want to know what the will of God is? Check it out. Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts...

Who are the wolves? Who are the bad fruit? I wonder if we have gotten these confused. In the context of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount, he is speaking about a specific heresy that still flourishes in the church today. Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us .

Have you been taught that all you need to do to be a good Christian is to do the golden rule? I bet you have been taught that. Well, how’s it going? Do you get a B- grade or a B+? How much is enough? What if I were to tell you that is not exactly what Jesus meant? There is a narrow gate that actually leads to an experience of the favor of God of you. The Golden Rule could just be in your way. Curi...

Now Jesus has gone too far. Stop judging? I get the concept, but everyone judges. Everyone has been judged. It has ramped up since COVID, but it was happening long before that. Jesus, read the room. Those people on the hillside? All they have known is being judged. Are you telling them to lay their only weapons down? Our government may not be good at much, but they are sure good at judging. Me too...

So just stop being anxious! You are kidding me, right? Did Jesus just tell those hurting anxious people on the hillside to choose to stop being anxious? Is he suggesting that they just need to be reasonable? Wouldn’t that just make them more anxious and ashamed? How does it make you feel? Of course Jesus is not saying just stop being anxious. Good news for anxious people. There is hope. We’ve larg...

Did you know that no one had more verses about them in the Christmas story than the shamed priest Zechariah. And yet he is never part of the celebration. No Christmas Pageant gives him his due. So what is it about Zechariah that captured the attention of Matthew? What is the Gospel of the Shamed Priest? Support The Show: https://www.gospelrant.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com...

Who gave the very first Christmas sermon? Shockingly, it was the shepherds. Humanly speaking, no one would have come to hear them. But they were the ones God picked. He still uses them today. Do you know someone who feels ashamed and rejected. They might really appreciate this podcast. The last of our Advent series will come out on Dec 24th, Christmas Eve, "Zeke, the Shamed Priest." Merry Christma...

What is Jesus saying? I have a choice either to serve God or Mammon? Am I good? Have I done enough? All Christians spend great deal of time worrying about tithing. We pastors make it even worse by implying guilt through such passages as this one. Honestly, though, like most of the other verses I note Sermon on the Mount, to do so would be to buy the actual headline. If you wonder about God and wha...

Hey, it's Christmas again and time for Gospel Rant's annual Christmas podcast series. This year we want to expand our typical children's Christmas pageant stage to bring out some of the lesser known things about the story and characters that should make the story jump off the usual small 12x12 pageant stage. In this podcast we look at the Gospel according to the uncircumcised, non-jewish, pagan, b...

So how are we to pray--really? Have you ever wondered if God is up in Heaven just yawning as you pray to him? In our Gospel Rant skit podcast, young tween Malcolm had learned the Lord's prayer and he was praying the heck out of it, until the monologue became a dialogue. Enjoy. If you want to know more about the "Lord's Prayer" go back to the previous three podcasts in the Sermon on the Mount Serie...

Hey, it's Christmas again and time for Gospel Rant's annual Christmas podcast series. This year we want to expand our typical children's Christmas pageant stage to bring out some of the lesser known things about the story and characters that should make the story jump off the usual small 12x12 pageant stage. In this podcast we look at the Gospel according to Mary. You know she was likely just a te...

In this Podcast we are in a three part series on the so-called Lord’s prayer. Is Jesus giving Christians a new pillar? Jesus is addressing the accepted three pillars of Judaism, almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Is he saying that in order to be a Christian and to get God’s blessing, we should pray this prayer regularly? Often enough? Word for word? Or have we misunderstood his whole point? You ay be...

Hey, it's Christmas again and time for Gospel Rant's annual Christmas podcast series. This year we want to expand our typical children's Christmas pageant stage to bring out some of the lesser known things about the story and characters that should make the story jump off the usual small 12x12 pageant stage. In this podcast we look at the typical antagonist of the story, the feared and violent Kin...

In this Podcast we are in a three-part series on the so-called Lord’s Prayer. Is Jesus giving Christians a new pillar? Remember, Jesus is addressing the accepted three pillars of Judaism, almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Is he saying that in order to be a Christian and to get God’s blessing, we should pray this prayer regularly? Often enough? Word for word? Or have we misunderstood his whole point?...

Hey, it's Christmas again and time for Gospel Rant's annual Christmas podcast series. This year we want to expand our typical children's Christmas pageant stage to bring out some of the lesser known things about the story and characters that should make the story jump off the usual small 12x12 pageant stage. In this podcast we look at the unspoken theme of the nativity—alienation —or better the en...

Welcome to Gospel Rant. Dr. Bill is continuing on this eye-opening radical journey through the Sermon on the Mount (not a sermon or a mount). It is not a sermon or a lecture, it is a dialogue. Feel free to agree or disagree. It is a rant. In this Podcast we are in a new section of the sermon on the mount. Jesus is addressing the accepted three pillars of Judaism, almsgiving, prayer and fasting. He...