Orthodocs.faith

Our series Ultimate Hope Has a Name continues in this episode that looks into hope’s Old Testament past. Biblical hope focuses on the fulfillment of ancient promises that God made and that gather around a coming Messiah-King. What are those promises, and how does a future Israelite king relate to them? Ron and John discuss how those hopes for a Messiah developed in ancient Israel and why they beca...

In this opening episode of our new series Ultimate Hope Has a Name, Ron and John begin to dig into what Christian hope really is. It is far more substantial and powerful than a mere desire for something to happen in the future. We begin a journey here toward a deeper, biblical understanding of hope—one that will not only change our lives but will also change the world. Is there an ultimate hope th...

Celebrate Episode 20 with us as we visit with special guest Dr. Craig Gilbert of Purposed Heart Ministries ! Together we explore how the Christian community’s corporate worship differs from personal, individual worship. Then, we look specifically at the important role that lament (as we have come to understand it in the Psalms) can play in the Christian community’s worship today. In our conversati...

This episode examines some of the smaller (but equally important) categories of psalms. Psalms of trust, songs of Zion, historical psalms, and wisdom and Torah psalms get a brief look, along with some examples that include the beloved Psalm 23 and the epic Psalm 119. We continue to experience the depth and breadth of life experience that the Psalms offer us as they lead us to God from the many dif...

While some psalms praise God for who God is, others praise God for something specific that God has done in our lives. In this episode, we explore praise psalms of thanksgiving and look at Psalm 116 as an example. We also discuss where we find this in the New Testament and early Church, and how these psalms can lead us in faithful thanksgiving today.

In this episode, John and Ron explore praise psalms of thanksgiving and look at Psalm 116 as an example. 

Some psalms offer praise to God simply for who God is. In this episode, Ron and John take up this kind of praise psalm and focus on Psalm 8 as an example. We also connect with how the New Testament understood Psalm 8. These psalms of praise help to lead us today in our created purpose to worship God, and we explore that potential in the discussion as well.

Psalms express real life, including the low places of grief, frustration, despair, and even anger at God. Can we complain to God at such times? Can we be exasperated and faithful at the same time? In this episode, Ron and John explore psalms of lament, which can help to lead us in those seasons of anguish, and to cling to God in life’s storms. We look at Psalms 13, 22, and 85 as examples of how th...

In this new series called Journey through the Psalms , Ron and John begin the trek by introducing the Book of Psalms as a whole and discussing the role of Psalms in Jewish and Christian tradition. Next, we examine the “front door” of this magnificent book, Psalm 1. How does it invite us onto the journey? What choice does it encourage us to make as we seek a life that ultimately leads to the core o...

Ron and John explain what they set about to accomplish with their podcast on Orthodocs.faith.

In this episode, we wrap up our series on Resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15. What do we know about our future rising from the dead and the resurrection bodies that we will have? How does this all connect to the bigger picture of what God is doing? Listen in as we follow how Paul brings his discussion of resurrection and hope in this chapter to a close with an important command that should encoura...

In this second of three episodes on 1 Corinthians 15, Ron and John continue the discussion of resurrection and why the hope of the Christian faith rests so heavily on it. How does the logic work? What should our response be? And what is the “big-picture” point of it all? We look at First Corinthians 15:12-34 for some answers.

With a dive into 1 Corinthians 15, Ron and John continue the conversation about resurrection and why it is an essential foundation for the Christian faith. In this episode, we discuss 1 Corinthians as a whole and begin to work through chapter 15 and its crucial resurrection message for us with a look at verses 1-11.

In this special Easter weekend episode, Ron and John explore the core Christian doctrine of resurrection from the dead. Why is it such a critical, indispensable foundation for our faith? Why does it matter so much, and how can reflecting on this topic nourish our hope in our own challenging times?

In this last episode in our series on basic Christian theology, Ron and John explore some essentials of Christian belief about the end times. 

John and Ron take up the question of the church.  What is the church? What role does it play in the lives of Christians?

In this episode, Ron and John explore what salvation is: What does it mean to be “saved,” why do we need to be saved, and what is the goal of salvation? 

What does it mean to be human? In this episode on a Christian doctrine of humanity, Ron and John build on the doctrine of God as they look into who we are as human beings created in the image of God. Who are we? Why are we? And whose are we? 

John and Ron tackle the doctrine of creation and providence, but hard on its heels comes the problem of evil.  If God has the power, why doesn't God fix everything that goes wrong?

John and Ron will say many times that Christians worship one God in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  In this episode they take up the following question: who is the Holy Spirit?

The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is absolutely central to a Christian understanding of the world.  But how is it related to the doctrine of God?  John and Ron explore that in this episode.

Who is God?  What is God like?   These and other questions about God are front and center as Ron and John navigate the difficult terrain of talking about God in a way that represents responsibly what we can know but avoids bold claims about the things we cannot.

What is Christian theology?  What assumptions does it begin with?  What questions is it trying to answer?  How does scripture factor into all this?  John Harman and Ron Bentley take up these questions and more in this initial episode of a series on basic Christian theology.