Contending for the Word

Every Easter season, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is reinterpreted, softened, or reduced to metaphor. But beneath these reinterpretations lies a deeper issue—worldview. In this Weekly Watch episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains why the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is not optional to Christianity, but foundational to the gospel itself. If Christ did not rise, Christianity collapses. But because He has risen, reality itself is defined by God's truth and authority. Now that Easter has passed, this episode steps back to examine what was revealed in how the resurrection was discussed and understood. Drawing from Scripture and engaging contemporary cultural trends, Dave shows why the resurrection must be understood as historical reality, not symbolic language. This episode also addresses how modern theology and culture attempt to redefine the person and work of Jesus—and why the Christian faith rests on the truth of the empty tomb and the testimony of eyewitnesses. Christians are not called to reinterpret the resurrection to fit cultural expectations. We are called to proclaim it faithfully, with clarity, conviction, and hope. 🔗 For more from Contending for the Word: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

Genesis 1:1 is not merely the beginning of the Bible. It is the beginning of clarity. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains why creation is not primarily about scientific debates or internet arguments. It is about authority. It is about starting points. It is about who defines reality. If God is the Creator, then truth is revealed, not invented. Morality is rooted in design, not preference. Identity is received, not self-constructed. Authority flows from divine revelation, not human consensus. When creation is rejected as a matter of authority, everything downstream becomes unstable: truth, identity, morality, and even the gospel itself. In this episode, you will learn: • Why Genesis 1:1 establishes ultimate authority • The Creator–creature distinction • Why worldview debates are about starting points • How cultural confusion flows from rejecting creation • Why the gospel depends on a holy Creator Creation is not optional theology. It is structural theology. It holds up the entire biblical narrative. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

Cultural instability is not random—it is worldview replacement. In this foundational episode of the Weekly Watch, Dave Jenkins explains how competing visions of reality are clashing beneath today's moral and cultural shifts. Walking through Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation, this message equips believers with biblical categories to think clearly, remain steady, and live faithfully in a confused age. Transformation begins with renewed thinking (Romans 12:2). A biblical worldview does not make us combative; it makes us stable. Listen to more episodes of Contending for the Word: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/ Pick up Dave's new book, The War of Worldviews: https://servantsofgrace.org/product/war-of-worldviews-book/

In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins concludes the March series, Clarity in a Confused Age: How the Church Drifts and How Christians Stay Anchored, with a biblical call to stability from Hebrews 12. When trusted leaders fall, doctrine softens, and confusion spreads in parts of the visible church, believers can feel unsettled and weary. Scripture offers a better response than panic or resignation by directing God's people to what cannot be shaken. This episode shows why seasons of instability are not new in church history and how Christians can remain anchored in Christ, grounded in Scripture, committed to the local church, and steady in ordinary obedience. You'll be encouraged to fix your eyes on Christ, trust the sufficiency of God's Word, and practice faithful, grace-shaped discernment without becoming cynical or harsh. Key themes include biblical stability, spiritual endurance, discernment with gentleness, and abiding in Christ in uncertain times. Hebrews 12 reminds us: what cannot be shaken will remain—and Christ is not shaken. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

In a culture driven by outrage, controversy, and constant reaction, how can Christians remain watchful without becoming reactionary? In this Weekly Watch episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains how believers can remain spiritually watchful without becoming emotionally reactive. In an age shaped by rapid responses and constant noise, Christians are called to biblical discernment rooted in Scripture and steadiness in Christ. This episode draws together the themes from the Clarity in a Confused Age series and highlights the difference between reaction and discernment, urgency and stability, and panic versus faithful watchfulness. Scripture calls believers to vigilance governed by truth, not volatility driven by emotion. Listeners will be encouraged to pursue spiritual maturity through the Word of God, the local church, and the ordinary means of grace, growing in biblical discernment with peace, courage, and clarity. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains how Christians can practice biblical discernment without becoming cynical, suspicious, or hardened in heart. After experiencing doctrinal drift or being misled by unbiblical teaching, many believers swing between gullibility and distrust. Scripture calls us to a better path—discernment shaped by the Word of God, grounded in love, and practiced with humility and steadiness. In this episode, Dave addresses the difference between discernment and suspicion, how to recognize warning signs of false teaching, how to test doctrine biblically, and how to guard your heart from cynicism while contending for the truth. Biblical discernment is not harshness—it is Christ-centered clarity joined with love for His church. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

In this Weekly Watch episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains why the softening and reframing of sin in today's church weakens gospel clarity and undermines assurance. This episode is discipleship-focused and pastoral in tone—not controversy-driven. It helps believers understand how biblical categories for sin, repentance, grace, and forgiveness protect joy, strengthen assurance, and guard the message of the gospel. You'll learn why sin is rarely denied outright but often softened through subtle language shifts, why repentance is mercy—not cruelty—and why biblical clarity is an act of love and spiritual protection. Key Scriptures include Romans 8:1, Ephesians 1, and 1 Thessalonians 5:21. This episode is part of the Weekly Watch series, helping Christians stay discerning, anchored in Scripture, and grounded in the gospel. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins continues the March series, Clarity in a Confused Age: How the Church Drifts and How Christians Stay Anchored, by addressing a critical issue facing the modern church: the redefinition of sin. Rather than denying sin outright, many churches soften biblical language, replace moral categories with therapeutic terms, and blur the meaning of repentance and holiness. But when sin becomes unclear, grace becomes unclear, repentance is minimized, and assurance is weakened. Dave explains how doctrinal and moral drift often develops gradually through cultural, institutional, and emotional pressures, why "almost right" teaching is often more dangerous than obvious error, and how this confusion affects ordinary believers in the pew. Most importantly, this episode shows how Christians can remain anchored through the clarity, authority, and sufficiency of God's Word. This episode calls believers to thoughtful discernment, humble faithfulness, and confidence in Christ as the unchanging anchor for His people in a confused age. For more episodes of Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word/

In this Weekly Watch episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins examines the subtle shift that occurs when visible results become the primary measure of success in the church. What are movements quietly training Christians to trust—visible results or faithfulness to Christ? In this episode you'll hear: • Why Scripture measures faithfulness differently than cultural influence • The difference between influence and biblical discipleship • Why Christ's promise—not visible success—anchors the church Through biblical contrasts such as results versus faithfulness, influence versus discipleship, and speed versus obedience, this episode calls Christians back to steady confidence in Christ's promise to build His church. Movements rise and fall. Influence expands and contracts. But obedience endures. Christ has not called His church to dominance, but to faithfulness—anchored in His Word and committed to making disciples. For more episodes of Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/ Topics covered: biblical faithfulness, results vs faithfulness, influence vs discipleship, dominion theology, Seven Mountain Mandate, church and culture, Great Commission discipleship

In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins examines the Government Mountain of the Seven Mountain Mandate and asks whether its vision of cultural influence aligns with the mission Christ gave His Church. This message is not about party politics or culture-war rhetoric. It is about theology, mission, and how drift happens when political outcomes take on redemptive weight. The central point is simple: the Kingdom of Christ advances through proclamation, not political possession. The Church wields the Word, not the sword. Drawing on Scripture and the storyline of the Kingdom from Genesis to Revelation, this episode addresses: • The distinction between the Dominion Mandate and the Great Commission • Government as restraint, not regeneration (Romans 13) • The danger of conquest language in the Church • Faithful civic engagement without confusing nation and Kingdom Christ reigns now. Christ builds His Church. The Kingdom cannot be shaken. More from Contending for the Word: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/