All Things New

On Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel. Since that day, the unfolding conflict has been the focus of newspapers, political pundits, social influencers, and concerned citizens alike. This was the biggest loss of Jewish life in one attack since the Holocaust, and some of the reactions have been troubling to say the least. For Christians, it is especially concerning as some populations call for the erasure of the Jewish state.

In this episode, we discuss a few questions that have risen to the surface in response to the Hamas attacks: Does this connect to biblical prophecy? What are the moral and ethical realities of the situation? How does this tie to current American debates and conversations?

"One who destroys the family is digging away the moral foundations of society," writes Herman Bavinck in Chapter 9 of The Christian Family. In this installment of Third Wednesday Theology, we explore Bavinck's insights about the connection between family and society.

The week of this recording, we officiated three funerals. Funerals can feel unnatural and even uncomfortable, and many people find them difficult to navigate. But the gospel frees us to show up with a Spirit-filled presence in moments of loss. In this episode, Bob asks Dusty to share some of what he’s learned from his experiences as a police chaplain and pastor.

If you’ve walked through a season of physical suffering, you’ve probably had someone say they are “praying healing over you” or even “claiming healing for you.” In today’s episode, we explain what the Bible says about healing and try to answer questions like: Why do some Christians claim they can heal someone? How should I respond to such claims?

Weeks ago, we talked about The Great Dechurching (ep. 439) - the downward trend of church involvement in America over the past 20 years. In a new article, Lyman Stone suggests this de-churching problem is less about the secularization of American culture and more a problem of families not passing their faith to their kids. In this episode, we engage Stone's essay and explore its implications for the family and the church.

Article: https://ifstudies.org/blog/secularization-begins-at-home

Is it nature or nurture? Herman Bavinck weighs in on the age-old question about human formation in this installment of Third Wednesday Theology. In chapters 7 and 8 of The Christian Family, Bavinck speaks of singleness, marriage, childbearing, and the nurture of children.

Our digital mail bag was full of questions about Revelation 20 after our “Four Views on the Millennium” conversation (Episode 441)! In this follow-up episode, we aim to answer questions like, “What does it mean to take the Bible literally?” “What are the interpretive approaches to Revelation?” and more. We break down the hermeneutical assumptions that underlie different views of the millennium and examine them through a biblical lens.

One of our listeners posed a question spurred by the ministry of Charles Spurgeon in London. By 1884, Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle was running 66 benevolent ministries encompassing just about every human need at that time. So: is mercy ministry meant to be a function of the local church, or is it an assignment for parachurch organizations? In this episode, we share our thoughts on the role of the church (and of individual Christians) when it comes to mercy ministry.

In this episode from 2017, we discuss Jonah chapter 3, where God relents from destroying Nineveh. By the end of the story, the people repent, and God does not bring about the prophesied disaster. So we examine the question, “Does God change his mind?” We learn how the meta-theme of God's covenant makes sense of historical contingencies in prophecy without compromising God's unchanging sovereignty.

A few listeners have asked us to discuss the millennial reign of Christ as taught in Revelation 20. Historically, this has been a point of debate and even confusion for Christians. How should we read Revelation 20? How does symbolism work in apocalyptic literature? In this episode, we survey the four major views of the millennium, and we identify the one we find most biblically defensible.