Church Theology

In this next set of episodes, I'm so pleased to have Sam Park and Matt Dohrmann join me for the podcast. Sam and Matt are both members of CrossWay Community Church where I serve. And in this episode we sit down to talk about the habit of reading good books, specifically, why is it important to be reading books?

Book Recommendations

Kirk and Dan sit down to talk about some interpretive reminders as we approach the book of Revelation, and then take a look at Revelation 5:1-14 through the lens of various theological categories.

In this episode, Kirk and Dan discuss some additional matters related to the interpretation of Revelation 4. How should we understand the phrase "after this" used twice in verse 1, and what are some of the theological debates / discussions surrounding this phrase? Second, we take a closer look at the twenty elders and the four living creatures. Who or what might they be, and what role do they serve in this passage? Next, we consider briefly the theme of worship across the book. Who do you worship — God or the beast? And lastly, we consider the theme of heaven as God's very temple, and how this reaches its climax in chapters 21-22.

In this episode, Kirk and Dan look at the final message to the seven churches, the message to Laodicea. They discuss the nature of the Laodicean's sin and how we might fight its temptations through the promises of Christ.

In this episode, Kirk and Dan talk about Revelation 3:7-13. Some of the things discussed: What do we know about the background to Philadelphia? Does v.10 support the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture? What does it mean for Christ to refer to the Father as "my God"? And finally, we examine the promise in v.9 that those of the "synagogue of Satan" will one day worship Jesus.

Dan joins Kirk back on the podcast to discuss Revelation 3:1-6. We talk about what was likely going on in the church in Sardis, and what that same sort of sin might look like in our own lives today, as well as how the promises motivate us to "overcome."

We continue in our series, looking now at Revelation 2:18-29. We begin by thinking a bit more about the call to "hold fast" to the "[Christ's] works," and then dig a bit deeper into the description of the false teaching as well as the OT background to this promise that we will reign with Christ. Finally, we close by considering some of the practical questions about what it looks like to interact lovingly and winsomely when we face friction with the world on account of faithfulness.

It's that time of year when people walk around with ash on their foreheads and eat fish on Fridays. But wait, why don't we practice Lent? Sometimes folks in our church, especially those who may have come from a Roman Catholic or more liturgical protestant tradition, will ask me this question. So I thought I'd sit down and record an answer for them.

On Sunday (Feb. 21, 2021) Dan will be preaching on Christ's message to the church in Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17. So in this episode, in anticipation of that upcoming sermon, we spend time modeling how we might interrogate the passage with questions to try to gain a better understanding of it.

Kirk and Dan record some material on their drive to a Charles Simeon Trust workshop. (Be on the lookout for the part when they go through the Starbucks drive-through). In this episode, they talk about Christ's message in Revelation 2:8-11 to the church in Smyrna.