Bible Geeks Podcast

Why is it so hard to talk to people about the gospel? How can we engage people in real dialogue about the truth? Join us for a discussion about the gospel, as we seek to understand it and share it. And as we talk about the first week’s reading on this episode, it’s still a great time to start reading through the New Testament with us! With the new year, we’ve also changed up the format — Finding Jesus in every passage we read and offering our Scripture du Jour from the week’s reading. Hope you’ll join us!

The Big Idea: Reasonable dialogue can open opportunities for sharing the gospel, where one-way communication might fall short.

Weekly Challenge: Ask someone a spiritual question this week.

Show Notes

Happy 2020 — are you ready to get Into the Book? We’re kicking off a new focus for this year, journeying through the New Testament, reading one chapter every weekday. Have you ever read through the Bible in a year? Maybe you do it every year or maybe you (like us!) have had some difficulty making it through. Either way, we hope you’ll join us!

The Big Idea: Reading through the Bible in a year is a marathon, not a sprint, so we designed this plan to give you the flexibility to make it to the finish line!

Weekly Challenge: Start the weekly reading plan.

Show Notes

How would you sum up your year in one word? As we complete 2019, we encourage you to reflect on your year with us, considering what happened and what you learned. We share some of the books that impacted us, what our goals were (and how we failed at them!), and discuss the important difference between a goal and an intention. And as usual, we kick things off with something Jesus Said — a promise that we will be satisfied in Matthew 5:6. Join us as we put a bow on The Year That Was: 2019!

The Big Idea: When we deal well with our past we’re better prepared for our future.

Weekly Challenge: Answer two questions about 2019 for yourself.

Show Notes

In this episode, we're diving into one of the most "singable" psalms — Psalm 8 — talking about God's majesty and love for us. What's our role on this earth? What does nature teach us about the Creator? Let's listen to the voice of the little ones in Matthew 21:14-16! And we wrap it all up with a few of our favorite things, including movies, books, and quiet moments alone in the woods. We hope you’ll join us — it's way better than listening to stereo instructions!

The Big Idea: We may be small, but the Creator of the universe loves us.

Weekly Challenge: Stop and reflect on God’s glory in nature.

Show Notes

We’re closing out our “Young folks” series with our Top 4 Proverbs on the subject along with some closing advice to our younger selves. How do you find great friends and a great spouse? Why is tending to your own heart such a big deal? And (sorry!) we had to get into every grown up’s favorite word to repeat to teenagers: “responsibility!” From some timeless words of Jesus in Matthew 26:41 (“Watch and pray”) to a silly saying by Ryan’s Grandpap (“Wherever you go, there you are”), we are grasping for all the wisdom we can find to pass onto “Little Bryan” and “Little Ryan.” So join us for one more trip on the Delorian!

The Big Idea: Invest your time and energy into maintaining 1) your heart and 2) your important relationships — your life will largely take its shape from these two factors.

Weekly Challenge: Spend time with a friend who sharpens you.

Show Notes

This week we continue our series for “young folks” with advice to our younger selves about “matters of the heart.” What kind of decisions can guide a Christian’s dating life towards a great, godly marriage? How do we protect ourselves (and our dates!) from decisions we’ll regret? What Jesus Said about plucking out your eye in Matthew 5:27-30 leads to what Job said about making a covenant with his eyes, and we can’t help but notice how uncomplicated these issues really are, if we’re honest. From establishing better guardrails to asking better questions, the only way any of it works is when we decide for ourselves where we are going to stand. Hope you benefit from the conversation and invite the young people in your life to have a listen!

The Big Idea: Committing yourself to divine principles can guide your “life story” (and even your “love story”) away from regret and toward blessing.

Weekly Challenge: Establish guardrails.

Show Notes

How can a young person set a course for a meaningful work life? How is confessing Jesus (Matt. 10:32–33) like giving a reference letter? And how do we begin to lift Bible reading from drudgery to delight? Continuing our series on what we would love to tell our younger selves, today we consider the value of values — the impact that writing down our core commitments can have on the shape of our lives. A well-built life starts with a purposefully-laid foundation of beliefs and habits!

The Big Idea: To internalize the principles of Scripture, we have to identify them, practice them, and reflect on them.

Weekly Challenge: Write down your core values and share them with someone close to you.

Show Notes

Programming Note: This week, we're replaying one of our favorite episodes from the past. We'll be back Thursday, November 28th with a brand new episode.

What is the value of weakness? What’s the problem with the term self-control? And why do we all occasionally find ourselves holding a tub of ice cream when we should probably have skipped dessert? This week we begin a series on the fruit of the Spirit and review all our challenges so far. We also talk about what Jesus Said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

Weekly Challenge: Review your yearly and quarterly goals.

Show Notes

We’re heading back in the DeLorean to talk to our younger selves on this episode. What Jesus Said about service in Luke 22:24–27 leads the way in our discussion about how “young folks” can take on the role of leaders. When we start by leading ourselves through easy and tough times, then we can begin to take responsibility for leading others. We cover mentorship, organization, volunteering, and other areas the upcoming generation of disciples can make a difference. There’s no better time than today to begin to be an example for others to follow!

The Big Idea: The first step of leadership is to take responsibility for leading yourself.

Weekly Challenge: Identify your contribution to the body and invest yourself in it.

Show Notes

This week we take on the generation gap in the church, looking for a way forward that brings us together in the Lord’s name. A popular meme has young people responding to older generations with a #OKBoomer. A recent Pew Research poll documents the continued drop in Millennials who call themselves Christians. We see this problem all around us, but when relationships become strained in the Lord’s church — when either young or old become disconnected — we have a responsibility to build the body. So join us as we talk about oneness, Teddy Roosevelt, slime, and what it means to be stuck with each other!

The Big Idea: Listening to one another in love — regardless of a brother’s different age or background — leads to fruitful dialogue and greater church unity.

Weekly Challenge: Connect with someone from another age group than you this week.

Show Notes