Wednesday in the Word

In 1 Timothy 5:3-16, Paul gives Timothy practical instructions for caring for widows in the church at Ephesus. Paul's plan is surprisingly clear. Families carry the first responsibility for their own. The church steps in for those who truly have no one. And real honor means offering people dignity and purpose, not just charity. In this week's episode, we explore: How the Torah, family ob...

Paul’s instructions to Timothy offer a clear picture of Christian maturity: fill your mind with what is true, order your life around that truth, and help others do the same. In 1 Timothy 4:6–5:2, Paul compares the pursuit of godliness to athletic training: something that requires discipline, practice, persistence, and a steady commitment to the truth of the gospel. In this week’s episode, we explo...

False teaching does not always sound wrong. Sometimes it sounds disciplined, devoted, and even more spiritual than the truth. In 1 Timothy 3:14–4:6, Paul shows Timothy how to recognize teaching that adds human rules to the gospel and reminds the church that true godliness means receiving God’s good gifts with gratitude and using them according to his purposes. In this week’s episode, we explore: W...

Paul’s qualifications for church leaders are not primarily about titles, offices, or organizational charts. They are about character. In 1 Timothy 3:1–13, Paul describes mature believers whose lives have already demonstrated that they can be trusted with authority, both by the church and by those outside it. In this week’s episode, we explore: Why 1 Timothy 3 may be describing the character of chu...

1 Timothy 2:9–15 is often read as a straightforward prohibition against women teaching or exercising authority over men. This episode presents a carefully considered minority interpretation: Paul is addressing husbands and wives within a larger discussion about godliness, authority, self-control, and trust in God, not setting universal rules for women in church leadership. In this week’s episode,...

How should Christians understand one of the New Testament’s most debated passages about women, teaching, and authority in the church? In this episode, Krisan Marotta introduces the major interpretations of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 and explains why thoughtful, Bible-believing Christians can reach different conclusions while sharing the same commitment to Scripture. In this week’s episode, we explore: Why b...

How should Christians respond when political leaders, officials, or other authority figures make life harder? In 1 Timothy 2:1–8, Paul calls believers to replace anger and resentment with prayer, especially prayer for the salvation of those they may distrust, oppose, or even feel oppressed by. In this week’s episode, we explore: Why Paul urges believers to pray for all people, including kings and...

Before he was an apostle, Paul had believers put to death . He was so notorious that when God sent a man named Ananias to help him, Ananias begged to be sent anywhere else. In 1 Timothy 1:12-20, Paul looks back at that history and draws a surprising conclusion: God didn't show him mercy in spite of how far gone he was. He showed him mercy because of it, so that no one, in any generation, coul...

Not every confident Bible teacher is leading you toward the truth. In Ephesus, some teachers sounded impressive, quoted the Law with authority, and drew a following. But Paul says they were doing real damage, because they didn't understand what they were talking about. This episode walks through 1 Timothy 1:5-11 to uncover the real test Paul gives Timothy for spotting sound Bible teaching, an...

Would you pick a quiet, unproven thirty-something to lead a church in crisis? Paul did. In 1 Timothy 1:1-4, he hands Timothy, a young pastor with no impressive pedigree and a hesitant personality, the task of confronting false teachers in one of the most spiritually chaotic cities in the ancient world. This episode explores why Paul trusted him anyway, and what that choice reveals about the kind o...

Timothy has been left in Ephesus with an intimidating assignment: confront false teachers, restore order, and guide a divided community without Paul beside him. Why did Paul trust this relatively young leader with such a difficult task and what does their story reveal about the real purpose of 1 Timothy? In this episode, we meet the two men behind the letter and uncover the central question that w...

For fifteen years, the Wednesday in the Word podcast has been exploring what the Bible means and how we know. Now, as we begin our 28th season, we’re turning to a letter that asks an urgent and surprisingly modern question: How should the truth of the gospel shape the way Christians live? Season 28 on 1 Timothy starts September 2. We’ll follow Paul’s argument verse by verse, paying close attention...

This episode closes the Start Strong series by asking a question many believers quietly carry: if we are no longer under the law, what keeps us from drifting back into sin? In Galatians 5:13–24, Paul’s message is both freeing and searching: true faith does not lead us to use freedom as an excuse for sin, but to become people who increasingly love what is good.  In this week’s episode, we explore:...

This episode explores why believers can have real confidence that their hope in God will not fail. In Romans 5:1–11, Krisan Marotta explains that salvation does not rest on the strength of our love for God, but instead on God's love for us. In this week’s episode, we explore:  What it means to have peace with God   Why biblical hope is not wishful thinking, but confident expectation   What Pa...

This episode explores how the Holy Spirit gives believers real assurance that they belong to God. Looking closely at Ephesians 1:13–23, Krisan Marotta explains that the Spirit is not only the fulfillment of God’s promises, but also God’s seal of ownership and his guarantee that he will bring his people safely into their promised inheritance.  In this week’s episode, we explore:  What Paul means wh...

You can look faithful on the outside and still be building your life around the wrong treasure. In this epsidoe, Krisan Marotta walks through Matthew 6:19–24 and shows how Jesus exposes the false security of worldly wealth, approval, and success. The real issue is not simply money, but whatever we cling to for meaning, safety, and hope instead of trusting the promises of God.  In this week’s episo...

Authority and submission often feel like problems to solve or power struggles to survive. In this episode, Krisan Marotta explores Colossians 3:18–4:1 and shows how Paul reframes those relationships through the gospel. Rather than asking how to protect ourselves or get our way, Paul calls us to live as people who belong to Christ, acting in every role with humility, responsibility, and trust in Go...

In this episode of Wednesday in the Word , Krisan Marotta returns to Genesis 2:15–25 to recover a biblical vision of marriage—not as a checklist of moral rules, but as God’s beautiful design for human intimacy and flourishing. By watching how God creates Adam and Eve, Krisan shows why marriage is God’s wise provision for a need we were made to have: the need to know and be known in a uniquely huma...

In this episode of Wednesday in the Word , Krisan Marotta walks through 1 Corinthians 6:9–14 to answer a question many believers quietly carry: If I still struggle with sin, does that mean I’m not truly saved? Paul’s warning is sobering, but it’s not meant to crush the repentant struggler. Instead, it exposes the danger of self-deception and clarifies the difference between stumbling into sin and...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 8 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  Do you ever feel like a trial has you cornered, like you have to choose between trusting God or taking matters into your own hands? In this episode, we walk through James 1:1–8 and learn why James can say to “count it all joy” when life gets hard.  In this w...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 7 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  In 1 Corinthians 12:1–3, Paul speaks to a church that’s confused about what makes someone “spiritual.” The Corinthians had started treating dramatic experiences—especially speaking in tongues—as proof that God was truly at work.  Paul redirects them to somet...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 6 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  In Matthew 10:40–42, Jesus makes a startling connection: the way we welcome His people reveals the way we welcome Him and, ultimately, the God who sent Him. This episode clarifies what it means to “receive” Jesus in Scripture, showing that it’s not a passive...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 5 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning that is both sobering and hopeful: it’s possible to talk like a disciple while walking the wrong road. In Matthew 7:12–29, we learn how a God-centered worldview reshapes what “love” looks like in practice—a...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 4 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  What does saving faith actually look like and how did Jesus define it? In this episode, we turn to Matthew 5:1–12 and the Beatitudes to hear Jesus describe the people who are truly “blessed.” Rather than offering a path to personal happiness or self-improvem...

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 3 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity .  If all religions lead to God, why did Jesus have to die? This episode walks through John 3:14–21 to show why the cross is not one option among many, but God’s gracious and necessary provision for a guilty world. Through Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nic...