Practicology Podcast

At the first Christmas, Mary was given a painful sword, but it was a sword sheathed with comfort. Are you going through pain this Christmas? Then join Mary in embracing the five comforts God gave her in her trial: the comfort of knowing (1) that suffering is normal for Christians, (2) God is in control, (3) that he is preparing you for the future, (4) and that you are not alone. The greatest comfo...

The real Christmas story – that of Christ coming into the world – is an account of God’s amazing grace. And the wonders and beauties of God’s grace are seen on the opening page of the New Testament, before the Lord Jesus is even born. The family tree of Jesus Christ is not a boring list of hard to pronounce names – it is a genealogy of grace. Scriptures Referenced: Ma...

Attention is a rare commodity. When you spend yours on another person, it is a generous gift of love. But there is also an indirect way of loving people with our attentiveness. When we make spending time in the presence of our kind Saviour a priority, we become kinder ourselves to those around us. Learn how the Scriptures call us to make the grace of Christ our focus, not all the debates and contr...

There is no book like the Bible and the Scriptures are our ultimate counselor. But we all learn from the ministry of others, including ministry that comes to us in written form. In this first installment of Cloak, Books, and Parchments (2Tim 4:13), Mike & Matthew share brief reviews of seven book titles for your reading pleasure. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook .

John Stott wisely said, “The Bible is a dangerous book to read. For in reading the Bible, we hear the words of Christ.” And as Christ speaks with authority like none other, we need to obey what we hear from Him. The great news is, building our life on obedience to his word is the safest thing to do! And when the storms of life blow against us, Christ’s words prove to be a rock th...

We can all fall into the bad habit of priding ourselves in not having actually committed an outrageous sin… but the Lord is looking for something deeper. Kingdom righteousness is not only seen in avoiding the big, public, obvious offences, but in pursuing Christ’s standard from our hearts. Scriptures Referenced: Mat 5:6, 20-37; Php 3:4-9; Jam 1:20; 1Tim 5:2 Visit PracticologyPodcast.co...

When Christ calls us to be his salt and light to the world, he’s calling us to do this together. Don’t let the seeming insignificance of your little light paralyze you from being faithful in the ordinary good works the Lord has given you to do. We are to be individual and communal, radical and ordinary. Our Father providentially takes our ordinary service and adds it to that of all his...

As Christians we are prone to veering into ditches. We focus on befriending the lost, but end up losing our Christian distinctiveness. So we start pursuing personal holiness, but in doing so cut off contact with the world. In his sermon on the mountain, Jesus lines our path with two rumble strips: (1) you are the salt of the earth, and (2) you are the light of the world. Together these rumble stri...

How many disagreements could be overcome if Christians really understood that their own faction and the one they are fighting with are both fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God? In this second half of Vincent Kember’s discussion on Christian unity, we consider some of the threats to unity and the way to enjoy unity. While unity is not something we can conjure,...

What are Christians to do with all the conspiracy theories swirling around? Obsess over them? Research them to death? Lose sleep over them all? The gospel teaches us to make three moves: First, we try level the playing field and see that all of us believe in at least one conspiracy theory. Second, we diagnose our heart’s attractions to conspiracy theories. Third, we go to the cross of Christ...

It is easy to mistake uniformity for unity, but true Christian unity isn’t dependent on wearing the same color tie or reading the same type of literature in your spare time. Biblical unity is centered on Jesus Christ. And sometimes the external differences that initially catch the eye of man can even serve to amplify true Christian unity. Scriptures Referenced: Ac 2:1-11; Ac 11:23; Rom 15:5-...

Colossians 1:12 is a great verse for Thanksgiving Day. It tells us to give thanks with joy to the Father. Learn Paul’s special recipe for making every day a happy day of thanksgiving. Scriptures Referenced: Col 1:3, 9-14; 3:15; 1Th 5:18; 1Pet 3:18 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook .

When Israel was saved out of Egypt, they sang praise to God, on the banks of the Red Sea. If you have been redeemed, the Lord has put a new song in your mouth – so sing it! As people saved by the Lord, we have good reason to praise him in song. But what should we be singing? Scriptures Referenced: Ex 15; Mt 26:30; 1Cor 14:15,26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episo...

Whether autumn is your favourite season of the year or least favourite, Psalm 65 is for you. Its strange celebration of the forgiveness of sins and the fall harvest teach us how much the gospel has to offer lovers of nature and those who care about the environment. In this episode we learn how to enrich our enjoyment of autumn, share the gospel with our friends who want to save the earth, and deep...

Have you ever had a bath? Good, that’s important. But do you know what else is important? Getting your feet washed regularly. The world is a spiritually defiling place and as we walk through it, our feet get dirty. To walk with the Lord, we need to have our feet cleaned, and the Lord is graciously willing to do that for us. Scriptures Referenced: Joh 13:5-10; Ex 29-30 Visit PracticologyPodca...

This year, go back to school or college with attitude! If you’re a Christian you’re too special to sin. According to 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, you belong to God by creation, by redemption, and by indwelling. Learn how to walk away from sinful temptations by saying, “I’m too special for that.” Scriptures Referenced: 1Cor 6:12-20; 1Pt 1:18-19 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com...

Martin Luther aptly described our sinful nature as “so deeply curved in on itself that it wickedly seeks all things, even God, for its own sake.” While it is vital to appreciate God’s interest in us as individuals, it is also crucial to remember the universe isn’t all about me. God has a big thing going on, and the gospel invites us to be a part of it. This Psalm started out with...

Many of us experience an emotional and existential fear about the Bible’s “fearing God” language. The emotional fear has to do with what such language implies about God’s character: is he threatening, or loving? The existential fear is the kind we feel when we read the precious assurances of Psalm 103. God has compassion on those who fear him. If I don’t fear him enou...

J. I. Packer wrote: “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father.” Meanwhile David in Psalm 103 wrote: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.” In this third episode tied to our August Summer Challenge,...

People created in the image of God cannot have a proper assessment of themselves without a proper assessment of God. And people who were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever cannot do so without truly knowing God. So what you think about God is not only important, it is the most important thing about you. Continuing our journey through Psalm 103, we learn what it unfolds concerning God&#82...

There’s a crucial difference between listening to yourself and talking to yourself. According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, most of our unhappiness comes from listening to ourselves instead of talking to ourselves. Perhaps King David would agree. In this first episode of the August Summer Challenge series, we overhear David talking to himself about five benefits the Lord had given him. Listen i...

In David Williamson’s final installment on Christian discipleship, we learn that not only is Christ before us that we may follow him, and beside us that we may fellowship with him, but he is also behind us enabling us to fight for him. We don’t fight with phyiscal swords, but it is a battle against the ideas of the culture – we “have divine power to destroy strongholds, to...

Being a disciple of the Lord Jesus is not only a matter of following Christ, but being with Him – enjoying fellowship and friendship. But what does friendship with the Lord Jesus look like? Guest host David Williamson (Episode 23) returns for Part 2 of a study on Christian discipleship and provides some practical pointers on enjoying friendship with the Lord. Scriptures Referenced: Mk 3:13-1...

Hear about our first ever August Summer Challenge on the Practicology Podcast: memorizing the beautiful Psalm 103 together in community. On this episode Mike and Matthew join forces to provide 10 reasons why you should take up this challenge and memorize Scripture. Make sure to listen all the way to reason #10! Scriptures Referenced: Ps 103, 119:11; John 15:4-10; Eph 5:18; Col 3:16; 2 Cor 5:10 Vis...

A disciple is a learner and a follower. So what does it really mean to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Gues host David Williamson (Belfast) joins the podcast to teach us about Christian discipleship focusing on the Lord’s ministry in the Gospel according to Mark.. Scriptures Referenced: Mt 28:18-20; Mk 1:16-20 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast...