Bible Geeks Podcast

Why’s it so hard to simplify our lives? How could unanswered prayers instruct us? Did the early church practice fasting? And what’s wrong with needing to see results in our service? Last week we kicked off our Bible Geeks Book Club by Flying Through a book called Celebration of Discipline, by Richard J. Foster. Here in part 2 of that discussion, we each identify our Favorite Things from the book and where we need to grow, bringing some of these disciplines into our lives more.

The Big Idea: We can become more like Jesus by imitating his habits.

This Week's Challenge: Choose a spiritual discipline to practice this week.

Show Notes

• “No Sir! Uh-uh!” (WEEKLY EPISODE)
• The Bible Bracket: Favorite Figures (WEBSITE)
• Executable Outlines on Fasting (WEBSITE)
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster (BOOK)
• Celebration of Discipline Resource Guide (PDF)

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Introducing the Bible Geeks book club! This week we reflect on spiritual disciplines like Bible meditation, prayer, fasting, confession, and service, as we discuss Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. We start by anchoring the discussion in our imitation of Christ, as his disciples. Then we go Flyin’ Through the Book, touching briefly on all twelve disciplines Foster encourages. It’s a conversation that raises topics from simplifying our possessions to what happens when we worship together. As the author says in closing, “The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life beckon us to the Himalayas of the Spirit. Now we stand at timber line awed by the snowy peaks before us. We step out in confidence with our Guide who has blazed the trail and conquered the highest summit.” Let’s start climbing!

The Big Idea: We can become more like Jesus by imitating his habits.

This Week's Challenge: Spend some time reading and reflecting on the spiritual disciplines.

Show Notes

• Living Water - The Bride by Ryan Joy (YOUTUBE)
• The Bible Bracket: Favorite Figures (WEBSITE)
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster (BOOK)
• Celebration of Discipline Resource Guide (PDF)

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Who’s your favorite figure of faith? This week we build an A-Team of Biblical royals and prophets, priests and disciples, all for an event we call the Bible Bracket. Don’t worry if your March Madness bracket’s busted, we have something better than basketball (at least for a Bible geek)! And after listening to us build the bracket, you can vote for the first round of match-ups at biblegeeks.fm/bracket or on our Facebook page. We hope the bracket leads to some fun and edifying conversations about these encouraging examples!

The Big Idea: God preserved the stories of the faithful so we can reflect on them and learn.

This Week's Challenge: Vote for your favorite figures of faith in our upcoming Bible Bracket.

Show Notes

• The Bible Bracket: Favorite Figures (WEBSITE)
• Finding Jesus: Hebrews 11:32-40 (VERSE)
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster (BOOK)

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We ended last week’s Ask the Geeks episode with a “to be continued,” and this week we pick it right back up with our final two listener questions. We start with a big one … what does Jesus say about divorce and remarriage? Then we consider what it means to “visit orphans and widows” today. They’re heavy issues worthy of serious thought and prayer. We’re grateful for the listener questions and we hope the discussion contributes to your understanding of these topics.

The Big Idea: The Bible doesn’t answer every question, but it does hold the answers to life’s most important questions.

This Week's Challenge: Identify any Bible questions you have and search God’s word for their answer.

Show Notes

• Cube Rule for Food Identification (Website)
• Finding Jesus: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (VERSE)
• Grace to Growth by Bryan Schiele (SERMON)
• Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanly (BOOK)
• Sacred Selections (WEBSITE)
• Bible Geeks Contact Form (WEBSITE)
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster

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Is it insincere to pray without action? What’s the key to preaching without notes? And most importantly, is a hot dog a kind of taco? In our first ever “Ask the Geeks” episode, we discuss listener questions. In these episodes we’ll discuss questions about prayer, preaching, divorce, and how we “visit” orphans and widows today. As usual, we kick things off with an icebreaker and then go Finding Jesus in a classic text about Biblical inspiration. If you have a question for a future episode, we’d love to hear it! Drop it to us at biblegeeks.fm/contact.

The Big Idea: The Bible doesn’t answer every question, but it does hold the answers to life’s most important questions.

This Week's Challenge: Identify any Bible questions you have and search God’s word for their answer.

Show Notes

• Cube Rule for Food Identification (Website)
• Finding Jesus: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (VERSE)
• Grace to Growth by Bryan Schiele (SERMON)
• Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley (BOOK)
• Bible Geeks Contact Form (WEBSITE)

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It’s been four years since we started the podcast, so this week we decided to press pause on the upcoming guided studies to step back and take a look at where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we want to go next. We start with what Jesus Said about how we’re drawn to him, and end with a Reach Out question about areas of the show we hope draw listeners closer to The Lord. We also invite you to help us shape the future of the show — what would you like to hear about? Do you have any Bible questions we could help answer? What subject would you love to have a study guide on? We’re grateful for the input! And whether you’ve just discovered the show or have been with us since the start, thanks for listening! May the Lord grow and develop us all as we follow him!

The Big Idea: Spiritual conversations with close friends are an incubator for our development in Christ.

This Week's Challenge: Let us know where you’d like to see the show go next.

Show Notes

• Jesus Said: John 12:32 (VERSE)
• What’s Good Study Guide (PDF)
• Series & Recurring Segments (WEBSITE)
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster
• Guided Studies (WEBSITE)

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Well, we’ve come to the end of the What’s Good study, and we hope it’s highlighted some of the many reasons we have to praise and thank our God. He has filled our world and our lives with his excellence. May we notice and appreciate it every day! This week’s conversation focuses on “whatever is pure” (Phil. 4:8). We start with what Jesus Said about the pure in heart (Matt. 5:8) then dive into a classic example of purity, in a segment we call, “Hello, My Name Is … Daniel.” Along the way we talk about how we can practice purity in quiet simplicity, how sin is like a virus attacking your system software, and how purity is like a password for entry into God’s presence. Find a PDF of the full 13-session What’s Good study guide and all the videos and resources at biblegeeks.fm/good.

The Big Idea: Filling our hearts and minds with goodness leaves no room for the filth of sin.

This Week's Challenge: Take time to be holy this week.

Show Notes

• What’s Good Study Guide - Session 13 (PDF)
• "Snow in November" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• Jesus Said: Matthew 5:8 (VERSE)
• What’s Good Guided Study (WEBSITE)
• What’s Good Study Guide (PDF)

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Is it possible to be proud of something … in a good way? And what does it mean to be “a servant of all”? This week we meditate on the praiseworthy virtue of humility. We go Finding Jesus in the Servant Song in Isaiah 42, making sense of the “broken reed” he won’t break and the challenge of wielding power justly. And in a Psalm 34 edition of Poetry in Motion, we consider David’s invitation to “taste and see” the Lord’s goodness for ourselves. As we prepare to conclude the What’s Good guided study next week, remember you can find all the videos and study guides at biblegeeks.fm/good.

The Big Idea: When we lift ourselves above others, we forget that our King lowered himself for us.

This Week's Challenge: Put someone's interest before yours by doing something they want to do.

Show Notes

• What’s Good Study Guide - Session 12 (PDF)
• "Happy Debtors" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• “The Bonds of Brotherhood” by Ryan Joy (SERMON)
• Finding Jesus: Isaiah 42:1-9 (VERSE)
• Poetry in Motion: Psalm 34 (VERSE)
• Humility by Andrew Murray (BOOK)
• "Snow in November" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• What’s Good Guided Study (WEBSITE)

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What are your roadblocks to truthfulness, sincerity, and integrity? How do we hold onto both love and truth when talking to each other about important issues? And what does honesty have to do with Chris Paul, gas lines, and life guards? This week’s Scripture du Jour is Ephesians 4, a power-packed passage full of guidance in how to “speak the truth in love.” Taking a cue from Paul there, Bryan compares us to kids in a riptide, as we recognize both the dangers of deception and the security we find growing in Christ. We also spend time unpacking what Jesus Said in John 8:32, learning to abide in the truth and live free. It’s session 11 in the What’s Good guided study — all about honesty — and you can find all the goods to have these conversations with your own group at biblegeeks.fm/good.

The Big Idea: We love truthful words because they’re the language our God uses to speak to us.

This Week's Challenge: Notice someone's sincerity and acknowledge it.

Show Notes

• What’s Good Study Guide - Session 11 (PDF)
• "World’s Best Cup of Coffee" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• Jesus Said: John 8:32 (VERSE)
• Scripture du Jour: Ephesians 4 (VERSE)
• "Happy Debtors" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• What’s Good Guided Study (WEBSITE)
• “Who Is Your Daddy?“ (WEEKLY EPISODE #142)
• Conviction Versus Mercy by Gardner Hall (BOOK)

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This week we encourage everyone to “be nice!” Actually, we aim to show how the Biblical virtue of “kindness” is much more than politeness and niceties. Our discussion quickly moves from our favorite unkind fictional characters to several Biblical figures who showed kindness — David with Mephibosheth and Abigail with David. We go Finding Jesus in that example of David with Jonathan’s son. And then — in a fun but challenging Here’s the Story segment — we go back to that moment in David’s life when his men needed food and one woman’s care and wisdom made all the difference. We also notice how kids can teach us the power of simple kindnesses, as getting over our selfishness to “be kind” is the central, early ethic we try to instill. And we close with a challenge to be “an undercover agent.” Have a listen and you’ll see what we mean! This is session 10 of the What’s Good study, and you can find the videos and guides for the series at biblegeeks.fm/good.

The Big Idea: God teaches us to appreciate kindness by pouring his unimaginable love and mercy into our lives.

This Week's Challenge: Be an undercover agent of kindness for someone this week.

Show Notes

• What’s Good Study Guide - Session 10 (PDF)
• "The Magic Word" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• Finding Jesus: 2 Sam. 9 (VERSE)
• "World’s Best Cup of Coffee" (DAILY DOWNLOAD)
• What’s Good Guided Study (WEBSITE)

Support the Show