Doable Discipleship

“Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, ‘Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.’ After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever.” – 2 Chronicles 20:20-21

2 Chronicles, the second part of the complete volume known as Chronicles, continues the retelling of the story we saw in 1 and 2 Kings. As we talked about in the 1 Chronicles episode, Chronicles is like a different vantage point look at the same events as Kings. But as we talk about in today’s episode, the vantage point allows us to identify and focus on some beautiful themes – particularly what it means to live with God at the center of your life. 2 Chronicles takes us back to King Solomon, the Temple, the dividing of the kingdom, military victories, and the many good and bad kings of age. 

To help us navigate 2 Chronicles is Dr. Carol Kaminski, senior professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and founder of Casket Empty, bible studies that trace God’s plan of redemption through the entire Bible, and author of a commentary on Chronicles. 

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. 

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/1-2-Chronicles-Story-Bible-Commentary/dp/0310490995
https://www.casketempty.com/

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Navigating the Bible: 1 Chronicles - https://youtu.be/eagXyo9oepg
Navigating the Bible: 2 Kings - https://youtu.be/vuCefx3wha0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Kings - https://youtu.be/EQjzZ0lvLjo
Navigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/9UOoIvfwXy0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkE
Navigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkg
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpc
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wk
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51k
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHw
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGg
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6g

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

When I thought about doing a series on Mysteries of Faith, one of the very first topics that came to my mind was prayer. Now, I’ve been a Christian since I was 5. Prayer has always been a part of my life. But if I’m honest, there are elements about prayer that I always just accepted as true, nodded my head at, and then moved on with the general way I’ve always prayed. 

As I got older though, I started to wonder about some things the way I imagine many of you wonder about prayer too. “Do my prayers really move God to act?” “Is there a proper way to pray?” “Why doesn’t God seem to answer all of my prayers?” I knew of prayer as talking with God, I even would say I knew why God wanted me to pray, but there were so many spiritual elements of prayer that were still so mysterious to me. Prayer is a completely spiritual practice. With Bible-reading, we’re at least engaging with a book. Prayer, on the other hand, is totally spiritual so I was excited to dive into some of the more deeply spiritual elements of prayer with my friend Dr. Kyle Strobel. 

Kyle Strobel is Associate Professor of Spiritual Theology at Talbot and author of the book Where Prayer Becomes Real: How Honesty with God Transforms Your Soul. Kyle has been on this podcast a few times in the past, once to talk specifically about his book on prayer, but today I invited him on to pull back the curtain on some of the more mysterious elements of prayer – what is really happening spiritually when we pray. 

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Prayer-Becomes-Real-Transforms/dp/1540900770

https://kylestrobel.substack.com/

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Mysteries of Faith: Union with Christ - https://youtu.be/U1MkOvTKvd0
Living Hope with Phil Wickham - https://youtu.be/1U_aetP2H0M
Longing for Joy with Alastair Sterne - https://youtu.be/HNXAl4wTmIc
Music, Story, and Experience with Luke Smallbone - https://youtu.be/6I-ayiHn7Tw
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Living Out of Overflow - https://youtu.be/aBKXbHf0X0s
Living with Hope in the Midst of Struggle - https://youtu.be/99Nki49V0fI

“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O Lord God! What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like. For the sake of your servant, O Lord, and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known.” – 1 Chronicles 17:16-19

 The book of Chronicles, broken into 1 and 2 Chronicles, holds an interesting place in the Old Testament. When we finished the book of Kings, we were left with a back and forth tale of the divided kingdom between Israel and Judah seeing story after story of terrible king to terrible king, with occasional bright spots. 1 Chronicles, the next book of the Bible, goes back and tells much of the same story again, but from a different perspective. We once again read about King David, but it’s as if we are getting a different vantage point to their reigns. 1 Chronicles is a fascinating book beginning with a series of genealogies, the death of Saul and the rise of David, military victories, the Ark of the Covenant, the role and duties of those who served God, and much more but, at its heart, it’s a book about what it means to live a God-centered, worship-filled life. To help us navigate the book of 1 Chronicles is Dr. Mark Boda, Professor of Old Testament at McMaster Divinity College and author of the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary on 1-2 Chronicles.

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. 

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/1-2-Chronicles-Cornerstone-Biblical-Commentary/dp/0842334319

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Navigating the Bible: 2 Kings - https://youtu.be/vuCefx3wha0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Kings - https://youtu.be/EQjzZ0lvLjo
Navigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/9UOoIvfwXy0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkE
Navigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkg
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpc
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wk
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51k
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHw
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGg
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6g

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Galatians 2:20 – “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
1 Corinthians 6:17 – “But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.” 
2 Corinthians 5:17 – This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

These verses, along with many others in the Bible, paint a part of the picture of what happens as a result of salvation. And if we’re honest, I think it’s a part of the picture we tend to look past. When we think about salvation, our minds typically go to the part that is easier to understand: we will not go to hell, we will go to heaven. “I go here, not there, I get that.” But the picture of salvation in Scripture is so, so much more rich than that. In fact, as the verses I just read highlight, salvation makes us a new creation – and not just that but it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. 

The Bible paints a truly beautiful picture of oneness – it often uses the terms “in Christ” or “in him” or “united with Christ.” And again, speaking from a place of honesty, this is something I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about in my life – and I think many of us are this way. We move past it either as a truth that doesn’t seem to pertinent to the way I live every day, or too complex that we just add it to the list of mysteries of the faith. 

In this series we will explore some of the mysteries of the faith we tend to move past. I want to name them, examine them from different perspectives, and talk about who these mysteries can actually have profound effects on how we approach our personal walk with Jesus. 

This first episode is on what it means to be in union with Christ. To help navigate us through this is Dr. Clive Bowsher. Dr. Bowsher is provost of Union School of Theology and author of the books Life in the Son and One: Being United to Jesus Changes Everything.

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.ivpress.com/life-in-the-son

https://us.amazon.com/One-Being-United-Changes-Everything/dp/B0D8LNKHNG?ref_=ast_author_dp

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Living Hope with Phil Wickham - https://youtu.be/1U_aetP2H0M
Longing for Joy with Alastair Sterne - https://youtu.be/HNXAl4wTmIc
Music, Story, and Experience with Luke Smallbone - https://youtu.be/6I-ayiHn7Tw
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Living Out of Overflow - https://youtu.be/aBKXbHf0X0s
Living with Hope in the Midst of Struggle - https://youtu.be/99Nki49V0fI

“Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground. When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.” - 2 Kings 2:7-9

The book of 2 Kings picks up right where 1 Kings left off. The kingdom of Israel is divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, and the prospects for God’s people seem to wax and wane on the different leaders to come to power in each of these regions. Let’s be clear, most of the leaders are, to put it mildly, not good. But there are a few bright spots too. In 2 Kings we also see Elijah taken to heaven and ascension of Elisha as we heard in the passage I read at the beginning of this episode. Trust me, you’ll want to stay tuned later in the episode when we talk about Elisha – he’s such a fun, interesting figure in the Bible. 2 Kings is fascinating because it toggles back and forth from Israel to Judah and back, all the while pointing us to a God who remains sovereign even when the kings of this earth turn away from him. 

To help us navigate the book of 2 Kings is Dr. Philip Ryken. Dr. Ryken is the president of Wheaton College and author of a commentary on the book of 2 Kings. 

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. 

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Reformed-Expository-Commentary-Commentaries/dp/1629954462

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Navigating the Bible: 1 Kings - https://youtu.be/EQjzZ0lvLjo
Navigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/9UOoIvfwXy0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkE
Navigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkg
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpc
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wk
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51k
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHw
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGg
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6g

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

There’s a question at the heart of the new book “Delighting in Jesus” that caught my attention: it says, “I know I should read by Bible and pray every day, but I’m just not consistent. For many Christians, ‘daily devotions’ and ‘spiritual disciplines’ strike guilt and shame in our hearts. But what if we got it all wrong? What if our Christian experience hinges not on perfect spiritual disciplines, but on the perfect love of a Father who delights in us?” 

This has been a topic I’ve been interested in for a while now: what does relationship with Jesus really mean. And now there’s a new word entering the conversation: delight. We often talk about joy or happiness, but I’m so grateful to my guest today, Asheritah Ciuciu, for focusing in on the word delight. Asheritah is the host of the Prayers of Rest Podcast and author of many books including Full, Bible & Breakfast, Walking with God, and her latest, Delighting in Jesus. In this conversation, Asheritah and I talk about why “delight” is an important word when thinking about our relationship with Jesus, why we don’t need to be afraid of being broken, how to build your joy center in your brain, and much more. I want to note too, in the show notes for episode you’ll find links to purchase Delighting in Jesus (which I highly recommend) and also a link to a devotional personality quiz that will help you understand better how God created you to feel most connected to him. I hope you enjoy both of these resources.

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.asheritah.com/
https://www.delightinginjesus.com/
Devotional Personality Quiz - https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/65654f1a7d4c35001488e815

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Living Hope with Phil Wickham - https://youtu.be/1U_aetP2H0M
Longing for Joy with Alastair Sterne - https://youtu.be/HNXAl4wTmIc
Music, Story, and Experience with Luke Smallbone - https://youtu.be/6I-ayiHn7Tw
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Living Out of Overflow - https://youtu.be/aBKXbHf0X0s
What it Looks Like to Give God All My Worship - https://youtu.be/E33yKXp1E9w
Living with Hope in the Midst of Struggle - https://youtu.be/99Nki49V0fI

“Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, ‘How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!’ But the people were completely silent.” – 1 Kings 18:21

The book of 1 Kings marks the transition from the reign of King David to the reign of Solomon. The nation of Israel is now firmly in the age of monarchy and Solomon is ready to not just take over his father’s mantle but also to build the temple his father had wanted to build. However, as is usually the case, things do not go smoothly and Solomon’s reign ends up being a rollercoaster ride. 1 Kings also introduces us to Elijah, one of the most fascinating prophets in the Bible. This book, full of accounts of Solomon’s wisdom, Solomon’s palace, the ark of the covenant, the Queen of Sheba, Elijah’s miracles and his defeat of the prophets of Baal, this full and robust book, is at its heart a book about God – who the one true God is. 

To help us navigate the book of 1 Kings is Dr. Iain Provan, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Regent College and author of the Understanding the Bible Commentary on 1 & 2 Kings. 

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. 

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Understanding-Bible-Commentary-ebook/dp/B008DVSWHG

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Navigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/9UOoIvfwXy0
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkE
Navigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkg
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpc
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wk
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51k
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHw
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGg
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6g

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The king of kings calls me His own
Beautiful savior, I'm Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope”

These lyrics are some of countless others written by Phil Wickham sung at church services across the world every weekend. Ever since his first album released in 2003, Phil’s songs have become part of the catalog for Christian worship, with popular songs including House of the Lord, Battle Belongs, I Believe, Living Hope, Sunday is Coming, and This is Amazing Grace. What I wanted to know is where do these songs come from? What goes into writing a song that resonates with a generation? In today’s episode, I talk with Phil about how he finds inspiration for songs, his process in songwriting, what his quiet times look like, parenthood, lessons he’s learned, and much more. 

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://philwickham.com/

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Music, Story, and Experience with Luke Smallbone - https://youtu.be/6I-ayiHn7Tw
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Living Out of Overflow - https://youtu.be/aBKXbHf0X0s
What it Looks Like to Give God All My Worship - https://youtu.be/E33yKXp1E9w
Living with Hope in the Midst of Struggle - https://youtu.be/99Nki49V0fI

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?” – 2 Samuel 7:18-19

In 1 Samuel, we were introduced to a new cast of characters in the story of Israel – and a new season of change. The people of Israel demanded a king and, despite God’s warnings through the prophet Samuel, they were given Saul, the first king of Israel. But all was not well and soon God’s anointing turns from Saul to David. 1 Samuel ends with the death of Saul and 2 Samuel then picks up the story of David’s reign as king. 2 Samuel is a complex book of palace intrigue, wars, adultery, murder, repentance – all wrapped around these themes of who is the real king and what does it really mean to be a man after God’s own heart. 

To help us navigate this book is Dr. Heath Thomas. Dr. Thomas is the president of Oklahoma Baptist University, an Old Testament Professor, and author of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel. 

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. 

Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Exalting-Samuel-Christ-Centered-Exposition-Commentary/dp/0805499318

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/kWKqWlB8pkE
Navigating the Bible: Ruth - https://youtu.be/shGuoDkiFkg
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/Sz6TL_w-gpc
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/5gldD5FM-wk
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/JidwMnYL51k
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/V60gGr-9pHw
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/1-I-QdjB700
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/1ELkgAlWFGg
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/5zXHObysL6g

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“If we have eyes to see, we uncover joy almost everywhere. Like someone searching for sand crabs on the coastline, we may not find her under every rock. But we also don’t need to look too hard before we uncover her.” 

This is a quote from the new book, Longing for Joy. There are many misconceptions about joy. There are many people who may struggle with joylessness because of anxiety, depression, or other factors. But there is also an availability of joy, true deep joy, to be found in Christ and his creation. This episode today is one of those moments where I think God is up to something. I’ve seen, heard, and read a lot about joy as of late. When I hear something pop up in a lot of conversations, that’s usually a sign to me that God is wanting to do a work in us related to this topic - and it was an added nudge from God when I saw the new book, Longing for Joy, by Alastair Sterne, which quickly turned into one of my favorite books of the year. 

I’m joined today by Alastair to talk about the reality of longing, joy found in creation and each other, practices that help cultivate joy, and much more. 

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Resources Related to This Episode:
Longing For Joy - https://www.amazon.com/Longing-Joy-Invitation-Goodness-Beauty/dp/151400898X

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes: 
The Burden and Gift of Living - https://youtu.be/VP6kHyBUpP4
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Living Out of Overflow - https://youtu.be/aBKXbHf0X0s
Music, Story, and Experience with Luke Smallbone of For King & Country - https://youtu.be/6I-ayiHn7Tw
Living with Hope in the Midst of Struggle - https://youtu.be/99Nki49V0fI