What does the Bible actually say about exercise, fitness, and taking care of your body?

In this conversation, a Desiring God pastor and author David Mathis unpacks a biblical theology of exercise — covering the six-layer biblical story of the human body (creation, the fall, the incarnation, the indwelling Holy Spirit, obedience, and future glorification), how to think about 1 Timothy 4:8 ("bodily training is of some value"), and why sedentary modern life and body-idolatry are two ditches to avoid.

This episode is brought to you by our ministry partner Accountable2You. Join thousands living in freedom with nothing to hide, and visit https://accountable2you.com/dialin. Use our unique code DIALIN to get 25% off your first year of an Accountable2You Personal or Family Plan

Topics covered:

• Why exercise matters for the mind, will, joy, and love of others

• Bodily discipline and Christian stewardship of the body

• The connection between physical exercise and mental clarity (John Ratey's "Spark")

• Competition, sports, and a Christian view of winning and losing

• Practical advice for sedentary Christians who want to start exercising

• How pastors and knowledge workers can build sustainable fitness habits

• A theology of the body: from creation to resurrection Great for anyone interested in Christian living, biblical theology, faith and fitness, health and wellness from a Christian worldview, or building sustainable exercise habits for the long term (a "ten-year plan," not a quick fix).

📖 Learn more and find the book at DesiringGod.org

In this episode, we walk through the most common rebuttals to the biblical view of homosexuality — not to win arguments, but to equip believers with Scripture and point people toward the truth in love.

This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu

We cover:

• Did Paul only condemn exploitative relationships — not committed gay couples?

• Was "homosexual" added to the Bible in 1946?

• Doesn't Jesus never mention homosexuality?

• Isn't God just a God of love — who accepts everyone as they are?

• What about the shellfish and mixed-fabric objections?

• Is same-sex attraction itself sinful, even if never acted on?

• What do you say to someone genuinely struggling with SSA?

This is part two of a two-part series. Part one lays the full biblical foundation from Genesis to 1 Corinthians.

📖 Key passages: Romans 1:24–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, Matthew 19:4–6, Leviticus 18:22, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Isaiah 56:3–5

🔔 Subscribe and drop your questions in the comments — we read them all.

In this episode, we walk through what the Bible says about homosexuality from Genesis to Romans — not to condemn, but to teach truth with clarity and care.

This episode is brought to you by our ministry partner Accountable2You. Join thousands living in freedom with nothing to hide, and visit https://accountable2you.com/dialin. Use our unique code DIALIN to get 25% off your first year of an Accountable2You Personal or Family Plan

We cover:

• God's original design for marriage and sexuality (Genesis 1–2)

• The sin of Sodom and what it actually reveals (Genesis 19, Jude 7)

• The Levitical holiness code — Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13

• Deuteronomy on gender distinction

• Romans 1 and the "wrath of abandonment"

• 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 — the vice list AND the good news

• Is there hope for the homosexual? Absolutely.

This is part one of a two-part series. Part two addresses common rebuttals: shellfish objections, what type of homosexuality Paul condemned, and more.

📖 Key passages: Genesis 1–2, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:18–32, 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, 1 Timothy 1:8–15

🔔 Subscribe and leave your questions or rebuttals in the comments — we'll address them in the next episode.

What does the Bible actually say about dating? And why does the church barely talk about it?

This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu

We brought in Greg Gifford — biblical counselor, professor, and author — to give us a theology of dating that applies whether you're 22 or 45. This is one of the most practical and honest conversations we've had on the show.

Topics covered:

• Acquaintance → Friend → Best Friend: the 3 stages of a dating relationship

• How to communicate at each stage (and what oversharing too early costs you)

• How to define the relationship (DTR) without being weird about it

• Online dating: sin or Christian liberty?

• Evaluating spiritual maturity — and why it's not about reading John Calvin

• Why technology since 2007 has made relationships harder If you've ever felt like no one's giving you real, biblical guidance on dating — this episode is for you.

📍 Find Greg: The Force Institute Podcast

What is worship, really? Most people say "singing" — but Jesus has a very different answer.

This episode is brought to you by our ministry partner Accountable2You. Join thousands living in freedom with nothing to hide, and visit https://accountable2you.com/dialin. Use our unique code DIALIN to get 25% off your first year of an Accountable2You Personal or Family Plan

In John 4, Jesus sits down with the last person anyone expected: a Samaritan woman with a broken past. And in that conversation, he gives the clearest definition of worship in all of Scripture — in spirit and in truth.

Here's the problem: most churches pick a lane.

Some go all-in on the spiritual experience — the emotion, the atmosphere, the "encounter." Others go all-in on doctrine and truth — deep teaching, sound theology, the Word. And both camps look at the other and think they've got it figured out.

But Jesus says they're two sides of the same coin.Spirit without truth leads to hysteria. Truth without spirit leads to stoicism — more morgue than a meeting with the living God. Real, biblical worship refuses to separate the two.

In this episode we unpack:

✅ Why worship is far more than a song

✅ What "spirit" and "truth" actually mean — and why you need both

✅ How superficial teaching always produces superficial worship

✅ How the most rejected woman in the story became the first evangelist

✅ What God actually thinks about your worship

📖 John 4:16–42

In John 4, Jesus has the longest recorded conversation found anywhere in Scripture — and he has it with the most unlikely person imaginable: a Samaritan woman with a broken past.

In this episode, we unpack why Jesus went out of his way to find her, what "living water" really means, and why he lovingly confronted her sin before offering salvation.Whether you feel too good to need a Savior (like Nicodemus in John 3) or too far gone to deserve one — this passage is for you.

📖 Key Passages: John 4:1–26 | Jeremiah 2:13 | Isaiah 55:1 | John 7:37–38 | Revelation 21:6

🔑 In this episode:

• Who were the Samaritans — and why did Jews despise them?
• Why Jesus "had to" pass through Samaria
• What living water means and why your soul is thirsty
• Why Jesus confronts sin before offering grace
• How the cross is the only reason Jesus can quench your spiritual thirst

👉 This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu

Is mysticism creeping into your church? Are you unknowingly influenced by New Age or New Thought beliefs?

In this eye-opening conversation, Jonny Ardavanis sits down with apologist and author Melissa Dougherty to unpack the subtle but dangerous ideas infiltrating modern Christianity — from the Law of Attraction and Christ consciousness to Christian mysticism, universalism, and the teachings of Richard Rohr.

Melissa shares her personal story of being deeply involved in the church while unknowingly holding occultic, unbiblical beliefs — and what finally woke her up.

📖 Topics covered: — What is New Thought and how is it different from New Age? — Law of Attraction, manifestation & Christ consciousness explained — How Oprah, Joel Osteen & the Word of Faith movement connect to New Thought — The danger of Christian mysticism and chasing spiritual experiences — Richard Rohr, universalism & progressive Christianity — The Enneagram's roots in New Thought — How to discern truth from deception

📚 Get Melissa's book Happy Lies: https://a.co/d/0e2lMldd

📺 Melissa's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MelissaDougherty

What does it mean to abide in Christ — and why does Jesus say it's the key to everything in the Christian life?

This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu

In this episode, we open up John 15 and break down what abiding in Jesus actually looks like in practical, everyday terms. If you've ever felt like your Christian life was running on empty, or wondered why real joy and spiritual fruit seem out of reach, this conversation is for you.

We cover:

✔ What "abide in me" means (it's simpler than you think)

✔ Why union with Christ is the foundation of all spiritual growth

✔ How abiding in God's Word leads to abiding in His love

✔ The role of prayer in staying connected to Jesus

✔ What you're missing out on if you're not abiding — including the unshakeable joy Jesus promises

✔ The difference between being positionally in Christ vs. practically living it out Whether you're a new believer or a seasoned Christian, Jesus' command to abide in Him is the heartbeat of the Christian faith — not for pastors or super-evangelists, but for every follower of Christ.

📖 Key Passage: John 15:4–11

📚 Also referenced: Romans 8, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3, John 17

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on theology, discipleship, and living the Christian life.

Did you know the Apostle Paul — who wrote half the New Testament — never once called himself a "Christian"? Instead, he used the phrase "in Christ" nearly 200 times. In this episode, we unpack what it means to find your identity in Christ, why so many believers struggle with temptation and insecurity, and how understanding union with Christ is the grip of the entire Christian life.

This episode is brought to you by our ministry partner Accountable2You. Join thousands living in freedom with nothing to hide, and visit https://accountable2you.com/dialin.

**Use our unique code DIALIN to get 25% off your first year of an Accountable2You Personal or Family Plan**

We answer 7 key questions about our identity in Christ, including:

• What does it mean to be "in Adam" vs. "in Christ"?

• How do we reckon ourselves dead to sin?

• What happens when we forget who we are in Christ?

• How does our new identity empower us to overcome temptation?

• And what do we say when Satan accuses us?

Whether you're wrestling with habitual sin, struggling with assurance, or just want to go deeper in your walk with God — this episode is for you.

📖 Key Scriptures: Romans 5–6, Colossians 3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20

Subscribe for weekly conversations on theology, sanctification, and the Christian life.

Why does worship feel shallow? Why does preaching feel flat? Why has passion for God gone cold? The answer might be simpler — and more uncomfortable — than you think: a low view of God.

This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu

In this episode, we open in Isaiah 6 — widely considered the greatest passage on the holiness of God in all of Scripture — and trace it through the story of King Uzziah, the seraphim, Palm Sunday in John 12, and the return of Christ in Revelation 19. What we find is a thread that ties the whole Bible together: God is a holy King, and understanding that changes everything.

Topics we cover:

• What A.W. Tozer meant when he said your view of God is the most important thing about you
• King Uzziah — what pride, prosperity, and a low view of God's holiness cost him- The seraphim in Isaiah 6 — who they are and why they cover their faces
• What "Holy, Holy, Holy" actually means (and why it's the only attribute tripled in Scripture)
• The connection between Isaiah 6 and Palm Sunday in John 12- Why God is not self-deprecating — and why that's actually good news
• The difference between a quantitative and qualitative view of God
• Revelation 19 and the return of the King

Referenced: Isaiah 6, 2 Chronicles 26, John 12, Revelation 4 & 19, Tozer, Sinclair Ferguson, RC Sproul, Spurgeon, Michael Horton