Bible Geeks Podcast

Put down the pitchforks — the old men yelling at clouds are having a change of heart! For our Bible Geektober finale, we're flipping the script on part one with a mini-episode all about our favorite ways to use AI responsibly. How can a digital assistant act as a brutally honest sounding board, a glorified research librarian, or a custom study notebook without stealing the sweat of your own study? Why does Bryan listen to a robot preach his own sermon manuscripts back to him while walking the dogs — and why did Ryan actually clone his own voice? Most importantly, how can we use "the distance test" to tell when a shortcut is clearing busywork off our desks versus stepping between our hearts and the people we love? Hit Command-Option-Shift-V and join us for a super nerdy, practical wrap-up on redeeming our time without losing our humanity!

The Big Idea: AI assistants — when used as tools — can help overcome friction in our research and administrative tasks so we can invest our hearts in deep study and human relationships.

This Week's Challenge: Intentionally spend the time you saved using digital assistants in unhurried prayer or intentional conversation.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 302 (VIDEO)
• Eat the Scroll (PASSAGE)
• Making the Best Use of the Time (PASSAGE)
• Abounding in Knowledge and Discernment (PASSAGE)
• Harmony in Matters of Conscience (PASSAGE)
• Logos Bible Software (LINK)
• Google NotebookLM (LINK)
• MacWhisper Transcription App (LINK)
• ElevenLabs Text-to-Speech (LINK)

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Geektober gets apocalyptic! When we talk about “dating Revelation,” we aren’t taking the last book of the Bible out to dinner — we’re asking when John actually wrote it down, and why a gap of just a few decades changes the entire story! Why did Ryan get dragged “kicking and screaming” from the late date to the early date after a year-long study? Who’s the mysterious “great city” where the Lord was crucified, and why is John told to measure a temple that hasn’t been knocked down yet? How does connecting Revelation to Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 23 and 24 bring the whole Old Testament covenant arc to a satisfying close without falling into false AD 70 doctrines? Join us for a fast-paced mini-episode that swaps out the frog for the turtle so the Bible’s final punchline finally clicks!

The Big Idea: The book of Revelation beautifully concludes the Bible’s written story.

This Week's Challenge: Read Revelation 11:8, 17:18, and 18:24 alongside Matthew 23:34–38. What connections do you notice?

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 301 (VIDEO)
• The Great City Where the Lord Was Crucified (PASSAGE)
• The Woman and the Great City (PASSAGE)
• Lament Over Jerusalem and the Temple's Fall (PASSAGE)
• Signs of the Close of the Age (PASSAGE)
• What Must Soon Take Place (PASSAGE)
• Come, Lord Jesus (PASSAGE)

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Geektober gets dangerously digital! We're kicking off a two-part deep dive into artificial intelligence and the church by looking straight into the machine's dark side. Sure, AI can save hours of research, but what happens when we try to automate things that were never meant to be frictionless? Why did King David refuse to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing — and what does that mean for generating a three-point sermon in three seconds? What happens when a chatbot tries to tell you, "As a pastor myself"? Can a predictive algorithm ever replace the Spirit-filled craftsmanship of Bezalel? And why is a growing generation of Christians starting to deeply distrust the synthetic sheen of AI-generated church content? Join us as we explore the difference between a helpful digital tool and an embodied faith!

The Big Idea: Spiritual formation isn't an efficiency problem to optimize; it's a living struggle requiring the breath of God and the heart of a human.

This Week's Challenge: Take one spiritual habit you’ve been tempted to speed up, automate, or scan through digitally. Manually slow it down to a pen-and-paper crawl this week.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 300 (VIDEO)
• Bezalel Filled with the Spirit of God (PASSAGE)
• A Sacrifice That Costs Nothing (PASSAGE)
• Eat the Scroll First (PASSAGE)
• Made Like His Brothers in Every Respect (PASSAGE)
• Speech Seasoned with Salt (PASSAGE)

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Grab your fedoras and trowels — Geektober rolls on! This week, we’re stepping into our archaeological time machine to dig up five game-changing artifacts that pull back the curtain on the world of the Bible. Why does reading ancient Canaanite myths from the lost city of Ugarit change how we understand Psalm 29? What can a smashed stone monument teach us about a pagan king spinning his military defeat into ancient propaganda? How does an Assyrian emperor’s boast about trapping Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” accidentally verify the miraculous biblical account in Isaiah? What does an ancient Persian cylinder say about God using an unlikely ruler to bring His people home? And what was it like to unroll two tiny, 2,600-year-old silver scrolls carrying the exact priestly blessing we speak at the end of every episode? Join us as we explore how broken pottery, carved stone prisms, and ancient inscriptions anchor our faith in real-world history!

The Big Idea: Archaeology can help us “time travel” to understand the Bible’s world better.

This Week's Challenge: Read the Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:22–27 every morning this week, taking a moment to remember that these ancient words of peace and protection are anchored in thousands of years of God’s proven faithfulness.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 299 (VIDEO)
• The Voice of the Lord Over the Storm (PASSAGE)
• Hezekiah's Deliverance from Sennacherib (PASSAGE)
• The Proclamation of Cyrus (PASSAGE)
• Cyrus, the Lord's Shepherd (PASSAGE)
• The Priestly Blessing (PASSAGE)
• Appian Media Archaeological Video & Audio Resources (LINK)

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Grab your nerd glasses — Geektober is officially here! We're kicking off our annual monthlong deep dive by pulling back the curtain on the unseen realm to ask: what's the deal with spiritual beings? From angels and demons to cherubim, seraphim, watchers, and the divine council, why does the Bible give us so many mysterious names without handing us an official field guide? How can the Hebrew word Elohim describe both the Creator of the universe and the departed prophet Samuel conjured by the Witch of Endor? Why did Jesus disarm cosmic principalities at the cross like a TSA security checkpoint? And what does a massive unseen war have to do with losing your patience in the grocery checkout line? Join us as we break out our three sorting questions — allegiance, rank, and function — to make sense of the unseen realm and marvel at the King who rules over it all!

The Big Idea: Scripture unveils the spiritual realm but its emphasis is Christ‘s supremacy over all of them.

This Week's Challenge: Read Colossians 1:15-20 this week and let its picture of Jesus reshape how you think about everything — visible and invisible.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 298 (VIDEO)
• God in the Divine Council (PASSAGE)
• The Prince of Persia and Michael (PASSAGE)
• The Commander of the Lord's Army (PASSAGE)
• Christ Over Every Throne and Dominion (PASSAGE)
• Rulers and Authorities Disarmed at the Cross (PASSAGE)
• Our Struggle in Heavenly Places (PASSAGE)

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Grab your moving dollies and roll up your pant legs — the fall season is here! We're kicking things off on the muddy banks of the Jordan River in Joshua 3 and 4. Why does stepping into a new season paralyze us, and why does God so often wait until our feet are soaking wet before making a way forward? What can forty years of eating the exact same breakfast teach us about letting go of our comfort zones? How do we stop clinging to the relics of who we used to be? And what does it take to set up our own "Ebenezer" stones so we don't forget the God who brought us through the flood? Join us for a fun, vulnerable conversation about crossing our own rivers, saying goodbye to the past, and trusting the Lord with whatever is waiting on the other side!

The Big Idea: Stepping into a new season requires getting your feet wet while trusting the track record of God behind you.

This Week's Challenge: Pick one specific answered prayer or lesson from your last season to keep on your desk or index card, and discard one piece of mental clutter you’ve been dragging along.

Show Notes

• Watch Episode 297 (VIDEO)
• Crossing the Jordan at Flood Stage (PASSAGE)
• Twelve Memorial Stones (PASSAGE)
• The Manna Ceases in Canaan (PASSAGE)
• The Commander of the Lord's Army (PASSAGE)
• Grieving with Hope (PASSAGE)

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Surf's up for the grand finale of our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular! To close out the series, Ryan Joy steps into the pulpit to share a lesson from his Ordinary Holiness series on a topic every single one of us engaged with this morning: what we wear. Moving far beyond legalistic checklists and ruler-measured hemlines, this sermon traces the theological thread of clothing from the garden of Eden to the foot of the cross. Why are humans the only creatures who wear clothes across every culture and climate? From the vulnerability of nakedness and shame in Genesis 3 to the social signals our outfits project, Ryan breaks down the what, why, and how of biblical dress. Discover how modesty is rooted in order and propriety, why generosity means looking at our overflowing closets through the eyes of John the Baptist, and how Jesus was stripped bare on the cross so that we could be clothed in His righteousness.

The Big Idea: Clothing isn't just a biological necessity or cultural trend, but a redemptive gift from God.

Show Notes

• Nakedness, Shame, and God's Covering (PASSAGE)
• Share Your Extra Tunics (PASSAGE)
• Respectable Apparel and Modesty (PASSAGE)
• The Hidden Person of the Heart (PASSAGE)
• Stripped at the Cross (PASSAGE)
• Clothed with Christ in Baptism (PASSAGE)

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Surf's up for another entry in our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular! Between cross-country moving logistics, hauling heavy furniture, and nursing sore backs, Bryan steps up to the pulpit to deliver a powerful lesson all about what it truly means to be a "helper." Starting in the Upper Room with Jesus' promise of "another Helper," Bryan unpacks four Old Testament and New Testament snapshots of God stepping into impossible situations when His people are outmatched and outgunned. But the lesson takes a dramatic turn back to Genesis 2. Exploring the Hebrew roots of Ezer(rescuer, strength) and Kenegdo (corresponding, eye-to-eye puzzle piece), alongside God's fierce, womb-like compassion (Rahamim), this Mother's Day sermon dismantles cultural misconceptions about biblical womanhood and calls us to honor the life-saving strength of the helpers in our lives.

The Big Idea: Biblical help is never about subordinate assistance or fetching coffee, but mighty, life-saving, and strong.

Show Notes

• An Ezer Fit for Him (PASSAGE)
• The God of My Father Was My Help (PASSAGE)
• My Help Comes from the Lord (PASSAGE)
• A Mother's Compassion and God's Unfailing Love (PASSAGE)
• The Lord is My Helper (PASSAGE)

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Wax up your boards — the Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular rolls on! This week, guest speaker Michael Eldridge (widely known across the internet as Acapeldridge) joins the show to tackle a vulnerable and searching question: Does God actually care? Starting with the historical background of Enlightenment Deism and Thomas Jefferson's famous "scissor-snipped" Bible, Michael examines how easily a practical deism can creep into our own prayer lives. When our worries feel small, temporary, or insignificant compared to the vastness of the cosmos, does the Creator of the universe really stoop down to listen? From Jesus' gut-level compassion (splanchnizomai) toward grieving widows and suffering lepers to the powerful assurance given to Daniel that his prayers were heard from the very first day, this lesson will renew your confidence in a Father who desires true camaraderie and actively inclines His ear when you speak.

The Big Idea: God isn’t an aloof, distant clockmaker deity, but an attentive, compassionate Father who inclines His ear to hear our prayers.

Show Notes

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Grab your surfboards and pack up your moving pods — the Seven Sermon Summer Surfin' Spectacular continues! This week, podcast fan-favorite Allen Greeley returns to unpack one of the most bizarre and ancient laws in the Torah: the ear-piercing ceremony of Deuteronomy 15. Why would a released slave in ancient Israel voluntarily choose to remain a servant forever? By examining the historical context of debt slavery versus human trafficking, Allen shows how an awl driven into a wooden doorpost reveals the overwhelming goodness of a master. We'll trace this ancient ceremony straight into Paul's argument in Romans 6 to discover what it means to present our bodies as voluntary, lifelong "slaves to righteousness." If you're tired of serving God out of cold duty or fear, this sermon is a refreshing call to declare: "Pierce my ear, Lord — I want to stay in Your house forever!"

The Big Idea: Believers choose lifelong, wholehearted servitude to Christ not out of fear or obligation, but as a joyful response of love to a Master who paid their impossible debt.

Show Notes

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