The Whole Counsel

This week, John continues to use Psalm 119:57-61 to lay the foundation for a discussion of the Christian’s relationship to the law. We heard last week about the foundational importance of having God as our portion. Today, we discuss 3 responses fueled by God as our portion: Love and gratitude that lead to obedience Dependence on God Determination to apply all that we find in His Word Exposition of...

In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the topic of the Christian’s relationship to the law. For the next two weeks, John will be visiting Psalm 119:57-61 to help us get a right approach to this question. The primary question for the believer is to ask if Christ is my only portion? Do I look to other things for fulfillment, for security, for peace? Or do I look to Christ alone? Charles Bridges,...

Since the beginning of this podcast, we have often pointed you to the Banner of Truth Trust for very careful, helpful books. That book publisher was started by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a pastor in London in early-mid 1900s. While we have pointed you to Lloyd-Jones, we have never truly shared one of his sermons. This week in our conclusion of his sermon from Romans 6:18 titled “Servants of Righteous...

Since the beginning of this podcast, we have often pointed you to the Banner of Truth Trust for very careful, helpful books. That book publisher was started by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a pastor in London in early-mid 1900s. While we have pointed you to Lloyd-Jones, we have never shared one of his sermons. So for the next two episodes, we want to share one of John’s favorite sermons from Lloyd-Jones...

This is our final episode focusing on Psalm 119. This week, John hones in on Psalm 119:44-45 with an emphasis on the liberty presented in these two verses. Liberty is a word Americans love to consider, but the cultural definition of that word is often not influenced by Scripture. John gives us six pictures of biblical liberty this week. For us to be truly free, truly at liberty, we must have safet...

Freedom is a precious thing. Throughout history, cultures have valued it and gone to war over it, while many individuals have sacrificed their lives for it. But there is a freedom that is more precious. In today’s episode of The Whole Counsel, John Snyder discusses the meaning of the true spiritual freedom that is given to believers through Christ. Psalm 119:44-45 So I will keep Your law continual...

We don’t know when Psalm 119 was written, but we do know it was written after man’s fall. This means the writer knew what it was to experience different seasons of the soul. He knew the warm joy of springtime, and the dreary darkness of winter. The prolonged dark seasons are particularly dangerous for the Christian. But God has given us all that we need in His Word to walk near to Him, even in the...

The Christian life must be one of balance. In this particular verse of Psalm 119, we see that balance exemplified between heart and will; between the weight of our desires and emotions versus our duties as children of a King. This protects us from sentimentalism and legalism. in other words, there is the head aspect of Christianity and the heart aspect. As John Flavel says, the distance between th...

We often speak of balance in the Christian life on our podcast. That is especially true this week as we discuss the balance of dependence and action, heart and will. We are called to live holy lives, but we can only do that by leaning wholly on Christ. But there is danger in this reality because the enemy is always present with a lie. He whispers that we shouldn’t pursue holiness because it is imp...

Today on the Whole Counsel Podcast, John turns from the introductory observations in the early verses of Psalm 119 to the Godward cries of the Psalmist’s heart that begin in Psalm 119:4-5. Beginning in these verses, we get the chance to follow the Psalmist into his prayer closet; verses 4-5 show us how the Psalmist cries out to God in light of the truths He observed in the opening verses, and they...

What does an appropriate balance between heart, mind, and life look like for the Christian? What role does the law play in the Christian’s life? How should we approach Psalm 119? In today’s episode of the Whole Counsel, John discusses these topics and addresses an important issue that is foundational to understanding this Psalm as we continue our new series with a look at Psalm 119:1-4.   How bles...

We bring our short series on Christian liberty to an early close this week to begin a series on Psalm 119. As individuals, a team, and a body at Christ Church New Albany, we have been studying Psalm 119 and found truths that have greatly encouraged us and benefitted our souls. Now, we want to share those truths with you. As John explains in this introductory episode, these episodes are going to be...

This week’s episode is a bit different from our usual setup. To begin, we are back in John’s office, but not like we have ever been before. This week you get to John’s office as it usually is, piled with books. But there is a method to our madness: we want to highlight some of the messy edges of the Christian life, particularly in the area of Christian liberty. This week, we will be considering th...

To purchase “Living with the True God: Lesson from Judges,” click here: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/products/living-with-the-true-god-lessons-from-judges-media-gratiae-online-course This is the final episode of highlighting materials Media Gratiae has produced outside our podcast network. Up to this point, we have presented you with previously released studies. But this week, we are pleased to p...

Special Episode: Family Worship For this week’s special episode, we present a study written and taught by Dr. Ryan Bush on the discipline of family worship. The ancient practice is largely lost in our modern Christian communities. But it is slowly being rediscovered by families across the globe. However, many need help to understand its importance and build it into the rhythm of their home. In thi...

Having spent two episodes introducing you to our first two studies, we now take a look at our latest documentary and film combination we made with Dr. Jeff Johnson. In The Church Bible Study Set, we seek to present the story of God's faithfulness as seen in 2,000 years of New Testament history. Over the course of this 12-week study, we take you to Carthage, Rome, Switzerland, Geneva, England, and...

Many of you know Media Gratiae through our podcast network, but we do much more. We have also produced documentary films and multimedia Bible studies. Every year we take a few weeks to present you with some of the teachings we have produced over the years. This week we want to highlight our second study, Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty. This is session one: Knowing the God Who is Incomprehe...

Many of you know Media Gratiae through our podcast network, but we do much more. We have also produced documentary films and multimedia Bible studies. Every year we take a few weeks to present you with some of the teachings we have produced over the years. This week we want to highlight our first 12-week study, Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically. This is session one: Beholding God: The Gre...

This is the fifth and final episode of John Snyder and Steve Crampton discussing revival. Last week they introduced a little book called The Causes of the Lord’s Wrath against Scotland Manifested in His Sad, Late Dispensations. In that book, Presbyterian pastors across Scotland joined together to discuss why God’s wrath was being poured out on Scotland. They didn’t point to the rebellious culture,...

After three weeks of looking at Old Testament accounts of God’s nearness—what we would call “revival” today—John Snyder and Steve Crampton begin this week to examine a historical revival mentioned earlier in the series. This revival took place in Scotland in the 17th century. Before it began, a group of Scottish Presbyterians ministers came together for their annual session. They saw the need for...

*The audio this week is a little “off.” Due to a technical difficulty, we had to use our secondary audio. We apologize for the inconvenience. Hezekiah, as John and Steve discussed last week, was not a perfect king. But he was faithful. He trusted in the Lord and His hand. He destroyed the idols and returned the people of Israel to worshiping God as He prescribed. But in the midst of this revival,...

The story of Hezekiah is one of God's faithfulness. The king came from a line of wicked fathers who abandoned God. But Hezekiah's heart was turned toward God and He drew near to His people. We would call that a revival. In this episode, John and Steve Crampton discuss this Old Testament revival and how we can prepare for revival but never obligate God to it. Show Notes: www.mediagratiae.org/blog/c...

We are all aware of the story of Nineveh, but how many of us every looked to this story to learn how we should pray for revival? John is joined by Steve Crampton, a member of Christ Church New Albany, to see what we can learn from Jonah and the pagans of Nineveh. Show Notes: www.mediagratiae.org/blog/consider-revival-nineveh Link to Lord I Agree: Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subs...

When Jordan came into the studio to record a few episodes, he and John recorded a bonus episode. They begin discussing the founding of Jordan's church in Memphis, TN. The duo also discuss some encouraging practices that have come from a resurgence of reformed doctrine, but also some dangers associated with that. If you want to check out the Hebrews series John and Jordan talked through, click here...

We spent three weeks skipping along the surface of Hebrews. There is so much more we would love to say. But we take a turn in this episode to see how God applied the priestly work of Jesus to the life of one sinner: Jordan Thomas. Like so many in our evangelical culture, Jordan prayed a prayer as a child and thought he was a Christian. But the Lord, in His kindness, showed Jordan the depth of his...