The Blessed Hope Podcast -- with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

Episode Synopsis: The next time you pass a Roman Catholic hospital, school, or church named for Catholic “saints,” you ought to remind yourself that you, too, are a “saint.”  Only your sainthood is something far greater than an honor bestowed upon you by the Roman church because of your notable piety or service.  You are a saint because you are clothed in the faultless righteousness of Jesus Chris...

Episode Synopsis: In the opening words of the Book of Romans, Paul introduces himself to a church he has never visited and to a group of fellow believers, most of whom he has never met in person.  Therefore, it is important for Paul to explain his apostolic office as well his role in undertaking the Gentile mission.  Paul is making travel plans which include a future visit to the city of Rome.  Si...

Episode Synopsis: When Paul writes his letter to the church in Rome, he is still in Corinth, having made a difficult visit there to deal with the ongoing problems in the Corinthian church, which we addressed in Season Four (when we covered 2 Corinthians).  But things have improved in Corinth to the point that Paul is making plans to continue his Gentile mission.  Before that can happen, Paul must...

Episode Synopsis : Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast is underway.  I know that for many of you, the Book of Romans is your favorite letter in all the New Testament.  When we wrapped up our time in 2 Corinthians a couple of months ago, the clock started on launching Season Five.  I love Romans, I’ve preached through it twice using the lectio continua style of exposition, and I have lectured o...

Episode Synopsis: Paul has written a long letter dealing with on-going controversies in Corinth–his fourth letter to this congregation.  We know this letter as 2 Corinthians.  Among other things, Paul’s first Corinthian letter dealt with factions, lawsuits, idolatry, gifts of the Spirit, proper worship, and the nature of our Lord’s bodily resurrection in anticipation of our own.  After Paul made a...

Lord willing, Season Five of the Blessed Hope Podcast will launch later this spring.   I am hard at work preparing new episodes.  In this brief introductory podcast episode, I hope to whet your whistle as I speak to the importance of this epistle, reveal some of the issues I will be addressing in the upcoming season, and give future listeners a homework assignment. I am really looking forward to g...

Episode Synopsis: Paul’s “Fool’s Speech” is a masterpiece in ancient rhetoric.  Under constant criticism from false teachers and apostles who thought of themselves wiser and superior to Paul, the apostle responds to their accusations by taking on the role of a fool.  These men are braggarts who regard Paul as weak and ineffective.  They see themselves as vastly superior to the apostle.   Rather th...

Episode Synopsis: After completing the first 9 chapters of the letter we know as 2 Corinthians, and even as he was preparing to leave Macedonia and head south to Corinth, Paul received word from Corinth that a group of men whom he describes as false teachers and false apostles were wreaking havoc in the church.  Not good news, and certainly a cause for immediate action.  In Paul’s estimation, thes...

Episode Synopsis: Paul is in Macedonia preparing to head south to Corinth.  So far, he has written to the Corinthians about his office and authority and he has encouraged them to wrap up their efforts to collect an offering to be sent to the struggling church in Jerusalem.  The Corinthians have been a difficult bunch for Paul, but when he wraps up the letter we know as in 2 Corinthians in chapter...

Episode Synopsis: Paul expressed concern that the Corinthian church would not have their offering ready upon his upcoming visit to Corinth.  As we saw last time, this offering had two important purposes.  The first was that there was a genuine need in Jerusalem as a result of an extended famine.  Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia were spared from the famine and had the means to send a signi...

Episode Synopsis: About the time Paul began his second missionary journey, a serious famine swept through Palestine–greatly impacting the Jerusalem church.  Those who lived in the region knew how serious such things could be and so they prepared for it–stockpiling grain, spices, and animal feed, etc.  But as soon as a church was organized in Jerusalem–after Pentecost–Jewish Christians found themse...

Episode Synopsis: When Paul left Ephesus to visit Corinth in what is known as the “painful visit,” he became the object of a personal attack from an unnamed party.  This was bad enough, but what made the matter worse was the fact that the Corinthians had done little if anything to support the apostle.  This forced Paul to send the so-called “severe letter,” the text of which is lost to us.  We may...

Episode Synopsis: Paul continues his defense of his apostolic ministry and office.  In chapter 6, verses 3-10, he lays out an incredible catalog of those hardships which he has endured so as to preach the gospel, along with evidence of how God has sustained both Paul and his Gentile mission throughout each of these difficult trials.  He has been slandered and praised and has experienced just about...

Episode Synopsis: I am reluctant to say that one portion of Scripture is more important than others.  But there are biblical passages packed with theological content and which have stirred much debate among the people of God across time, as does our text for this episode, 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2.  In this section, Paul lays out what might just be the big picture thesis statement for Paul’s Gentile...

Episode Synopsis: C. S. Lewis brought a biblical expression from Paul into the broader evangelical world in his influential 1941 sermon “The Weight of Glory,” based upon 2 Corinthians 4:17.  Lewis points out that glory, as used by Paul, is a not a ‘flimsy” thing, but something substantial and abiding.  Unlike the shadows of affliction, the denseness of heavenly glory is something real and solid. ...

Episode Synopsis: In chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses a subject no one likes or wants to talk about–the frailty and weakness of the human body.  We have all seen images of great athletes with robust and fit bodies–the Greeks and Romans idolized the human body in their art and sculpture.  But think of those magnificent bodies at their peak (say in their 20-40s) in contrast to those instan...

Episode Synopsis: As Paul finds himself facing a serious situation with challenges to his apostolic authority and attacks upon his person and reputation, he defends himself and his apostolic office by pointing to God’s saving work among the once pagan Corinthians.  Through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, the believers among the Corinthians now have hearts of flesh through which they ha...

Paul is under attack by some in the Corinthian church who question his intentions and his ability–he will later identify them as “super” or “false” apostles who are agents of Satan.  These men claim to exercise charismatic gifts but which call attention to themselves in a manner unlike Paul had taught the Corinthians.  They claim that although Paul is tough when he picks up his quill, he is weak i...

Episode Synopsis: For those of us who regard Paul as one of the primary figures in all of the New Testament, it is hard to comprehend a time when the apostle was under siege to the extent we find in 2 Corinthians.  His authority was being challenged, and he was being compared to men whose rhetorical ability and charismatic gifts surpassed his own.  Paul must open his letter to the Corinthians by d...

Episode Synopsis: 2 Corinthians just may well be the most difficult of all of Paul’s letters.  2 Corinthians assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the geography of the Greco-Roman world (a map really helps), as well as some understanding of the ongoing situation in the Corinthian church which leads Paul to compose this letter (the fourth in a series of letters which Paul has sent to...

" Life in the Midst of Death” An Introduction to 2 Corinthians When we wrapped up season three (our deep dive into 1 Corinthians), Paul was in Ephesus responding to reports from Chloe’s family about troubling things going on back in Corinth.  About the same time, Paul received a delegation from Corinth asking a series of questions about various matters which were disputed or required Paul’s i...

Episode Synopsis: Episode 29 of Season Three of the Blessed Hope Podcast brings our deep dive into 1 Corinthians to its conclusion.  As we come to the end of our study of this remarkable letter and take a moment to look back at the ground we have covered, it quickly becomes apparent how truly important this letter is for those of us living in the 21st century in the midst of an increasingly pagan...

Episode Synopsis: At the end of chapter 15 of First Corinthians, Paul describes what is truly the greatest triumph in the long history of the human race–Jesus Christ’s glorious victory over death and the grave.  Our greatest enemy (death) was defeated that first Easter when Jesus was raised bodily from the dead as the firstfruits of a great harvest yet to come.  And when Jesus returns on the last...

E pisode Synopsis: Imagine the shock you would feel upon hearing news that the body of Jesus had been found in a tomb somewhere near the city of Jerusalem and the remains were positively identified as those of the central figure of the New Testament.  What would your reaction be?  Would it even matter?  Would you still call yourself a Christian?  While no one is going to find the body of Jesus in...

Episode Synopsis: If someone walked up to you and asked, “What is the gospel?, what would you say?  If you cannot come up with the answer immediately, then please carefully consider what follows.  The definition is given us in a concise form by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5.  The gospel is called “good news” because it is the proclamation of a set of particular historical facts—Jesus su...