Save My Darlings

On Sunday we talked about the pure milk of the word, and how newcomers to the Lifeboat need to feed on Jesus' teaching. Well, spiritual milk gets mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, and not in a very favorable way. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is angry at some Christians because they don't want to move on from milk and start taking in solid food. What is solid food? Do we really ever sto...

On Sunday, we saw that Paul calls himself the worst of all sinners. Well, that can't be literally true because it seems like there must have been other people who did worse stuff than him. So what does he mean and why does he say it? And what does it mean for us? Should I think of myself as "The worst of all sinners?" and if so, how should that impact the way I live?

On Sunday we heard Thomas Aquinas's view that God allowed evil because he judged it better to have the possibility of redemption than not. What the heck does that mean? Is evil good? What do we do with horrific evil? Why is there evil? Well, we can't answer all fully in 20 minutes, but we can at least get a start.

Before we turn to Jesus to rescue us, we often aren't aware we need rescuing! So what is happening when life is like that and who is responsible? And why do we so often wish we could go back to that sort of life? It might help to make sure you've listened to the sermon first for context. Visit coastbible.org for links to audio and video.

Practical question: what if the person you have wronged could really hurt you or those you love if you tell them what you've done? What if trying to address the wrong is almost certain to make things worse? Are we off the hook? Sorta-kinda. Listen to find out!

Why does Jesus tell us get forgiven from someone we've hurt when we're angry? Receiving forgiveness does something to us. In this episode we find out what.

On Sunday, we described giving, praying, and fasting as opportunities to "have a catch with dad," that is, delight in spending time with our heavenly Father during all of life's ups, downs, and everything in between. But what might that look like for giving and fasting specifically? This episode deals with some more specifics.

Sadly, Christian theologians and Biblicists and ethicists are hopelessly confused about how to tell right from wrong. We saw that in the last episode. So I'm here to help you do better! Here's a quick and dirty guide to understanding how the bible thinks about right and wrong and how you should too. Little bit on male and female emissions, so look out for little ears!

So apparently there's a movie that makes fun of antiracism that came out called, "Am I Racist?" And, surprisingly--to me, at least--some conservative Christians are concerned that the tactics used by a Christian in the movie--including lying to and mocking perceived enemies--are beyond the pale and unChristian. Well, that's silly. Listen to find out why.

Sometimes there are big differences between translations of the Bible. In fact, sometimes whole verses are omitted. Why? Don't we all translate from the same sources? Well, come on a journey as we find out where are sources come from, how old they are, and how confident we can be that we know what John or Luke of Isaiah really wrote.

Christians talk a lot about "souls" but what do we mean? And what are the implications of soul talk for our lives and afterlives?

What do the dead experience? Anything? Are they watching us right now? Just a few quick thoughts.

Sometimes God says no when we really need him to say yes. Why? Well, it's impossible to know for sure, but here are some biblical themes to help us out!

Hebrews 11 gives us a huge list of the "heroes of the faith." But when we take a closer look at their lives, they aren't, uh, very saintly. Really corrupt in fact. What do we make of this? Are there any real heroes?

Last week we talked about Rahab the prostitute. One of the weird things about the story is that no one ever calls her out for being a sinner or asks her to repent. But doesn't it seem like sex trade is something God would condemn? What gives? (Note: there's nothing graphic here, but we are honest about sex work and do talk about its realities)

A strange feature of the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 is how old everyone is. People living into their 900s? What gives? We look at some provocative possibilities. Hat Tip to Carol Hill for some excellent research.

For this episode we're joined by our Youth Director, Patrick Vear. We talk about last week's episode about What to Do When the Bible is Unbelievable AND one of the darlings from Patrick's sermon a couple of weeks ago. If God knows everything and can do anything, Why does he ask us to keep knocking on his door when we need something?

Could all those animals really fit in the ark? For some modern people, the Bible has some stories that are simply too outlandish to believe. Well, if that's the case, (1) is there still a possibility of genuine faith; and (2) can reading the Bible still be transformational for skeptics? I say YES.

Sometimes the Bible leaves out stuff that we think is important. Why? And what should that teach us about reading it?

What is this podcast all about?

Genesis 6 puts some classical doctrines like omniscience (God knows everything), impassability (God never changes), and Goodness (God only does good) into question. What doe we do with this?