No Church Answers!

In our annual Christmas podcast, we discuss the miracle of the incarnation as spelled out by the opening of John's gospel. All the trappings--angels, shepherds, manger and magi--are stripped away. What we get is the essential message of Christmas: God's entry into history as a finite human being to offer all those who accept him the right to become "chilldren of God." We also talk about the implic...

There is no doubt our nation needs prayer for healing. But that very statement begs the question as to what God wants for our nation, and the proper role Christians have in this healing. Other than respect for the law, Paul didn't think much of Christians being involved in civic issues of the day. The Bible tells us we experience God's love through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a individual c...

Biblical forgiveness is defined as the letting go of a sin or offense that has been committed against you. In the Bible, this includes forgiving everyone, every time, of everything, as an act of obedience and gratefulness to God. As such, forgiveness may be the most countercultural aspect of a religion that’s already countercultural. Revenge and retribution have been the order of the day throughou...

Prayer and fasting appear together throughout the Bible; Nehemiah is just one example. As a counterpoint to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we discuss fasting as a spiritual discipline designed to be done alongside prayer and relationship. We also discuss fasting methods and tactics, from basic a first-time lunch-to-lunch to longer and more intense periods. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Why do we praise God or, more importantly, why is God praiseworthy? We unpack this by looking at two prayers of praise from the Bible and what they say about the nature of our God. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19....

We look at the Lord's Prayer in the latest in our series on prayer. Elegant in its simplicity, yet so complex when unpacked. What makes these words to comforting, yet so powerful? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.c...

The impatience inherent in our culture demands we get everything now, so it can be frustrating to have to adjust to God's time, in which "a day is like a thousand years." When God is slow in answering our prayers, what can be gleaned from the experience? And can we ever "force" God's hand? Does God have a perfect will and alternative acceptable will? We look at some Biblical examples that seem to...

When the host of your discipleship group asks for someone to lead the closing prayer, do you look for a chair to hide behind? Is saying grace a chore rather than an honor? In the latest in our series on prayer, we talk about fighting the urge to avoid group prayer and proffer some tips as to how to do it better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad...

In our continuing look at the spiritual discipline of prayer, we talk about the times we get tongue-tied before God. Is "prayer block" like writer's block? How do we find words when it's too difficult to compose a thought? And are there any such thing as "trivial prayers" or should we feel free to bring everything concern or petition before God? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

We continue our look at various aspects of prayer, this week discussing how to pray for others. "I'll pray for you" too often is the church version of "have a nice day." How do we go beyond literal "lip service" and offer meaningful prayers for fellow human beings? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privac...

Whenever a church leader asks for someone to lead group prayer, everyone does their best to avoid eye contact. Why is something that seems so easy is, at the same time, so difficult? As we begin a deep dive into the discipline--and mystery--of prayer, we share some ideas and personal methods at improving our prayer life. Also, last month Houston Baptist University has become the latest denominatio...

We conclude our series on the Book of Job with some opinions on how Job's perspective of God may have changed as a result of his ordeal and his divine encounter. Both Job and his three friends repented at the end, but was there a difference in what God expected from them? We also discuss some of our own takeaways from the study as a whole. And, given Satan's provocative role in the drama, we ask i...

In the climax of the Book of Job, God appears, yet doesn't deliver the concrete answers Job and his friends were expecting. Instead, God proffers a series of rhetorical questions pertaining to creation. Traditional commentary says that God issues a humiliating smackdown in response to Job's presumptiveness. We believe there's much more to God's "final exam" than this. Join us as we mine the divine...

We inaugurate our new name with a scripture lesson that lives up to it. Many commentators see Elihu, the fourth friend of Job who suddenly appears in the narrative, as proffering the "wisdom of youth." We don't quite see it that way. To us, Elihu comes across as that angry zealot who needs to defend God and speak for him--largely in platitudes and "church answers." He doesn't so much offer Job div...

We change things up this week and perform two dramatic readings from the dialogue between Job and his three friends, followed by discussion. The argument gets heated, insults fly and sarcasm arguably approaches blasphemy. At heart, a pious, but deeply afflicted individual is trying to move beyond traditional but erroneous interpretations of scripture, while his peers dig in their heels on "convent...

Does suffering come upon us because we have sinned? Are we to accept hardship as correction from God? Job's friend Eliphaz believes so, but Job argues back. He won't keep silent. Does Job have a right to demand an accounting from God himself? Do we? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at http...

In one of the most disconcerting chapters of the Bible, Job, his wealth, family and health suddenly removed, cries out to God in anger and a confusion, cursing the day he was born, wishing for death and above all, asking if this is all there is, what's the point of living anyway? Most people know the basic story of Job, but few, even Christians, know how explosive this outcry is. But isn't express...

We begin a study of the Book of Job, a well-known story filled with poignancy and nuance. First up, the wager between God and Satan over Job's piety, which immediately puts a big question in play: is our worship of God purely self-serving? Do we praise him when times are good, but curse him when times are bad? We are told Job is faithful and pious man, yet he is willing to question--and grow angry...

We finish our look at Jesus' parables told in Luke with another difficult story that seems on the surface to be about money, but in truth is about the expectations God has for his people. This parable seems to say the Lord detests passivity and rewards those who seize opportunities to expand the Kingdom. And despite the doctrine that states "once saved, forever saved," there's clearly a call to ac...

Is shrewdness purely a worldly value, or does it have a proper place among believers? This just one question that comes up when we consider the puzzling message of the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. We hash out who this parable was directed at, why the behaviors of the characters seem so unchristian, if the manager is rewarded or condemned in the end, and if the master represents God or not. Final...

Along with The Good Samaritan, the Parable of the Lost Son is one of the most well-known of Jesus' parables. It also arguably ranks as the most layered. All the characters are vitally important to the point it makes and, at different times of life, a reader may take away different perspectives. Yet in 22 verses it sums up the Gospel. Join us for an entertaining discussion as we look at the challen...

God invites us to a joyous relationship of bountiful love, yet why do we find excuses to decline so easy? We look at the way we rationalize our avoidance of God and his kingdom invitation and, to be fair, it's no easy task. We also discuss the fallout from the Southern Baptist Convention report on sexual abuse and look at ways churches can create a culture of child and youth protection. Hosted on...

As some often ask today, some in Jesus’ audience wanted to know if the people killed unjustly or die in freak accidents had done something particularly sinful. He answers with a parable that basically says we are all on the clock. Our discussion looks at faith amid the reality of misfortune. loss and suffering and we try to fathom awesome Christians we know who hold onto their faith in the afterma...

The traditional meaning of the Parable of the Rich Fool is that we should be storing up treasures in Heaven rather than placing faith on worldly measures of wealth. That's not wrong, but we think the message is a bit more complex than allowing us making us working stiffs to shake our fingers at the wealthy while absolving ourselves of the sin of avarice. Can you be of modest means yet still be as...

In this parable, Jesus promises that all prayerful petitions to God will be granted. And there's no fine print. Yet, if we are honest, we can say that many of our heartfelt prayers have gone unanswered. In this podcast, we confront this heavenly "accountability gap" and take issue with classic church answers (e.g, "God answers prayers in his time" and "Sometimes God's answer is No") that only rais...