On The Phone With Josh

Is there an opportunity to accept Christ after you die? This is, of course, a highly speculative conversation that happens to touch on a lot of primary doctrines. If you missed last week’s episode, tune into that first and then dive in here. And if you have a topic that you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, send us an email at onthephonewithjosh@gmail.com .   Follow us on: https://www.facebook....

How do you have a good conversation about a debatable theological idea?  What are the guardrails that will help protect the conversation and the wellbeing of those in it? And if the topic is of secondary importance, is it even worth having? Join us as we set the stage for next week’s episode in which we tackle just such an issue.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive...

Churches may not be a business with a CEO or a CFO, but they are still an organization that needs structure and policies around which to operate. In this episode we talk about the necessity for good practices in the church and how the protect pastors, staff, and attendees alike. We also take a moment to reflect on our Psalms reading for this week. Come join the conversation!   Download our Summer...

Psalm 110 might be one of the linchpin chapters of the entire Bible. It reaches back to foundational texts in Genesis, grounds itself in the Davidic monarchy, and culminates in the personhood of Jesus as described by the author of Hebrews. This is a text screaming for a closer look. We invite you to join us!   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11t...

The seven deadly sins aren’t really talked about these days. Instead, morality is often boiled down to love, tolerance, and civility. Yet, when we take a deeper look, things like pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth are just as relevant as they ever were. What would it mean to take these seriously again? Come join us for this conversation and our ongoing Summer in the Psalms series!...

The command to praise shows up over 200 times in the Psalms. In practical reality, what does that mean? How do we get better at doing it day by day? Join us for this conversation and every conversation in our summer in the Psalms series.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11tbpHE0VjE5CSU_C6Brhr708M1gs-j4b/view?usp=drive_link   Follow us on: https...

YHWH Sabaoth is featured prominently in Psalm 84, but its warrior image doesn’t seem to fit the overall tone of the Psalm. What’s going on here? In this week’s episode, we venture an alternative take on this and other images from Psalm 84. We invite your comments and feedback as we do! What do you make of this wonderful Psalm?   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.go...

Is a fresh take on the Good Samaritan story possible? What if we were invited to see this story through the eyes of an often overlooked character? How might this parable be speaking to us today? Special thanks to Pastor Chase Replogle of Bent Oak Church for preaching a compelling sermon that we discuss on today’s episode.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google....

Are the beatitudes meant to be a set of moral imperatives that we should strive for? Or are they somehow a blessing to the “sat upon, spat upon, ratted on”? What does the context of the sermon on the mount teach us about how the beatitudes should be read? Come join the conversation on both the beatitudes and this week’s Psalms reading.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https:/...

In his book Reversed Thunder, Eugene Peterson describes the author of revelation as being a poet, a theologian, and a pastor. In the process he describes what each of these three roles “takes seriously.” For this episode, we want to dive into what it would mean in our lives to take people seriously, to take God seriously, and to take seriously the power of words. Then we want to dive into the Psal...

Finding your spiritual gifts is not always as easy as taking a 15 minute survey. In fact, sometimes those very assessments can steer us down the wrong path. So how is one to find their spiritual gift? And once found, how are they to know when and how to use it? Come join the conversation and let us know your experience with finding and using your spiritual gifts. And what do you make of our soluti...

At times the Kingdom of God gets conflated with the local church. Are the two actually one in the same? If not, how should we distinguish between the two? And what role does the local church play once we’ve made the distinction? We invite you to join in the conversation and join in reading the Psalms with us all throughout this Summer!   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https:/...

The Rich Young Ruler might be one of the most challenging passages for 21st century Western Christians. It brings up so many uncomfortable questions about wealth and to what degree we should identify ourselves with the rich young ruler. In this episode we wrestle with the relationship between wealth and following Jesus. And then we end on a few thoughts from this week’s reading in the book of Psal...

Just like a resting heart rate tells us a lot about our health, what can we learn from our resting stress rate? How can we measure it and make sense of the data? And what benefit might it have to living in the Kingdom of God? Come join us for this conversation and for our thoughts from this week’s Psalms reading.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/...

Psalms 1 and 2 are said to be a general introduction to the Psalms as a whole. But with very different themes in each, how are we to understand these Psalms? How can we hold together these themes? And supposing we get that far, how might it help us read the entire psalter? Welcome to the very first week of the Summer in the Psalms!   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://dri...

The Summer in the Psalms begins next week!! We take this episode to look back on last year’s Psalms reading and look forward to this year’s reading. As we do, we hope you will make plans to join us as we set our mind on the church’s prayer book throughout the ages.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11tbpHE0VjE5CSU_C6Brhr708M1gs-j4b/view?usp=driv...

We often talk about spiritual formation as if it is something that we do. But what about God? Doesn’t God play a role as well? What exactly is that role? Come join us for this conversation and for our upcoming Summer in the Psalms series that you can follow along with through the link below.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11tbpHE0VjE5CSU_C6Br...

Our desire is that this podcast be a formative experience for us as hosts and for you as listeners. As we celebrate the nice, round number of 100 episodes, we take a moment to look over the experience so far and see how it has formed us. If you are one of our faithful listeners, we would love to hear from you to know how this podcast has affected you as well!   Download our Summer in the Psalms Re...

Scholarship is one of many facets of the church. But how do we fit these pieces together? Do scholars just help the rest of us become more learned or is there more to it than that? Come join the conversation about the role of scholarship in the church. And then make plans to join us for our upcoming Summer in the Psalms series beginning this Memorial Day. We can’t wait to dive in with all of you!...

Curiosity may be a new buzz word in our society. Has this word caught your attention? If this is a societal value, should it also be a value that we have as Christians? What role might it play? Come join the conversation! And get ready for our upcoming Summer in the Palms series by downloading the reading plan below.   Download our Summer in the Psalms Reading Plan HERE: https://drive.google.com/f...

How should we evaluate the value of short term missions? Some may say that the expense involved far outweighs any potential benefit. Is that true? Is there another way to think about short term missions? Dive in with us as we explore this topic and then let us know what you think!   Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePhoneWithJosh https://www.instagram.com/onthephonewithjosh/ https://www....

It feels a little cruel to let someone struggle. Yet, sometimes we do more harm than good by “helping.” There is a lot of growth to be had in all areas of our lives that can only come through having to struggle through. How might this affect things like parenting, discipleship, counseling, or friendships? Listen in here and then share this episode with a friend to keep the conversation going!   Fo...

Friendships as adults just don’t work the same way as they did when we were younger. In fact, they are a lot harder. Why is it so darn hard to form friendships as adults, and what can we do about it? You’re invited to commiserate with us and then join the conversation on social media.   Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePhoneWithJosh https://www.instagram.com/onthephonewithjosh/ https://...

On this episode Josh from Missouri opens up about his experience with ADHD. Our hope is that this can be one small step toward normalizing neurodivergence and helping those who are neurotypical be more informed and responsive to those with ADHD. We know that ADHD affects us all in different ways, so we invite you to share this episode with a friend or family member and start your own conversation...

Today we explore the what and the why of contemplative practices. We attempt to put words to our own experiences with contemplative prayer and also explore the Scriptural support for it. We end by providing a few thoughts to those wanting to being an engagement with these practices. And, of course, we end with another rousing Which Josh question… Come join the conversation!   Follow us on: https:/...