LIVE with Doug Goodin

God's people always find themselves struggling to live "in the world but not of it." The current political divide in America — a "cold civil war," as some call it — has exposed the differences of opinion that Christians have about how to engage in the battles. It has also exposed our lack of sound thinking in the Church. Today's study will help us to work toward a biblical approach to how we view...

A modern proverb asserts that actions speak louder than words. Jesus taught the same principle: if you want to know what someone truly believes, pay more attention to what they do than to what they say. In today's study, we see that many who claim to be Christians deny Him by their sinful actions. Our lifestyle shows what path we are on, regardless of what we claim to believe.

Contrary to the egalitarian worldview of our day, trophies are for the winners. The Apostle Paul ran the Christian race with a clear ambition toward winning the prize. And he instructs us to do the same. We must not sit on the sidelines, get distracted, or give up the race. We talk about that in today's study.

A perennial danger for believers is to become stagnant in our pursuit of holiness, especially the more we are taught to "rest in Christ." The Apostle Paul emphatically denied having "arrived." He pressed on, hard, to reach the finish line. This is the challenge set before us in today's study.

The Apostle Paul was a man of tremendous passion and ambition because he knew what was ahead of him. His lifelong focus was to get to the resurrection, that is, his own resurrection. This is quite different from waiting to die and go to Heaven. We consider this in today's study.

"Knowing Christ" can easily slip into a sentimental, almost romantic, idea, in modern Christian usage, songs, etc. Today we discuss what Paul meant when he said knowing Christ surpassed every other pursuit of his life.

The most important question every human being must ask is, "How can I, a sinner, be righteous before a holy God?" There is only one correct answer. In today's study, we discuss how to be righteous before God and what kind of faith makes a person righteous.   Here is the Babylon Bee interview with Elon Musk I mentioned. (It is fascinating on many levels, despite my brotherly criticism.) https:...

Jesus once told a rich man that he would obtain eternal life if he abandoned his great wealth to follow Him. The rich man wouldn't make that trade. The Apostle Paul did make that trade. He realized that no personal possession or achievement was worthy to be compared to the value gained by knowing Christ. Every human must decide which wealth he or she will choose. We talk about that in today's stud...

Those who achieve greatness usually reach their success through the combination of three things: fortunate circumstances, great passion, and exceedingly hard work. Not only did the Apostle Paul have all three, but he had them in the context of serving God. Or so he thought. Upon further reflection, he realized what those things were really worth in comparison to knowing the Messiah. We talk about...

One thing that both Jews and many Christians have in common is that they put a lot of stock in their religious heritage. Paul calls it all rubbish. Genuine Christianity derives from something else entirely. We talk about the two marks of a true Christian in today's study.   Here is more information on the "Church Life & Worship" course I mentioned: https://www.newcovenantschooloftheology....

Christians are to be marked by kindness and gentleness, but there is a time to throw off the niceties and expose false teachers for what they are. Teaching a false gospel deserves the severest of responses, as the Apostle Paul demonstrates in Philippians 3. In today's study, we consider why he used such harsh language toward the Jews.   Here is the podcast I mentioned on flesh/Spirit in Roman...

We know we are supposed to rejoice always, so why don't we? Sometimes, it's due to hard circumstances. Sometimes, it's because we are following false teachers. The Apostle Paul shows us how to move from both into constant rejoicing in the Lord. We talk about that in today's study.

The Apostle Paul referred to Epaphroditus as "apostle" and "liturgist" (as well as brother, comrade, and fellow soldier). But he didn't mean liturgy in the way churches use it today. In this study, we consider how we should think of "worship" in contrast to the Sunday morning-centric way we usually think.   Here is a link to the New Covenant School of Theology, for those interested in the "Ch...

If you were searching for a new church, what would you look for in the pastors/elders? Things like preaching the true gospel and valuing the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scripture would rightly top the list. Beyond that, you should look for men who care for God's people the way Christ does. But what does such care look like? We talk about that in today's study.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, yet He said, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword," (Matt. 10:34). What did He mean by that and how should we think about the birth of Immanuel? We talk about that in today's lesson.

Christians say, "Jesus is Lord," by which we seem to mean something like, "Jesus will be Lord when He returns." We are excited about His second coming and are doing our best to hang on until it occurs. Yet the Scripture says that His kingdom began increasing from His resurrection and will continue to grow. Moreover, peace will continue to increase as His kingdom expands. What does that mean for ou...

God's story is always light after darkness, hope after catastrophe, life after death. "O come, O come Immanuel, ransom captive Israel." Redemption comes after enslavement. We talk about that in today's study.

In today's study we examine the historical context for the great prophecy - "Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel." We are familiar with this verse because of Matthew's gospel and, of course, the annual Christmas season. But we may not be familiar with its original setting and the role it played in predicting the coming Messiah. We discuss those t...

A popular Christmas song asks the question, "Mary did you know?" It's a reasonable query as one considers all of the thoughts that must have swirled in the head of this young virgin girl when she was told that she would give birth to the Child predicted seven centuries prior by the prophet Isaiah. It's also intriguing to ponder how much Isaiah himself knew when he made the prediction, and how much...

As Martin Luther said, justification by faith alone is the teaching on which the church stands or falls. It, along with substitutionary atonement, is the very heart of the gospel. Christians understand that we will not be declared righteous before the throne of Christ based on our good works. Indeed, we cannot be, because our works are not altogether good. Yet, as Luther also realized, the faith t...

Reading through Philippians 2, you may think that "Jesus" is the name above every name. But a closer look reveals that Paul had another name in mind, a name which God reserved for Himself alone. This is a name you need to know, in fact, it's so important that you must acknowledge it today in order to avoid God's judgement. We talk about that in today's study.

Philippians 2:5-11 is one of the most Christ-glorifying passages in the NT. It is also one of the most debated. Some have interpreted it to mean that the Son of God stopped being God when He became a man. In today's study, we will interact with that view and then turn to the main point of the text - how Jesus became a slave to save us.

I remember the first time I pulled up to a drive-through window to pay for my coffee and learned, much to my delight, that the person in front of me had already taken care of it. It was a small gesture, but kind nonetheless. The gospel calls Christians to display a similar "pay it forward" attitude as we receive encouragement and affection in our trials. We talk about that in today's study.

The gospel starts with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, but it doesn't end there. It's also the "gospel of the kingdom." We have a King who calls us to walk worthy of Him, and to do it joyfully. When we do, our enemies feel the certainty of their coming defeat, which only makes them angrier at us and provokes them to harm us more. All of this is a gift from God. That's what Paul teaches in our...

The Bible says that the greatest love you can show someone is to lay down your life for him or her. Yet most of us will never be put in the position to take a bullet or something like that for the rescue of someone else. The Apostle Paul shows us another way we can demonstrate this kind of love. It's challenging and encouraging at the same time. We talk about that in today's study.