Faith Seeking Understanding Podcast

Guest: Dr. Joseph Crider | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Crider on worship. Topics of conversation include: 1) The place of music in worship, 2) Whether or not our worship methodology matters to God, 3) Some dangers of the contemporary worship style, 4) The importance of rooting worship in truth, 5) The value of traditional hymns in modern worship, 6) The role of a worship leader, and 7) Resources for further reading on this subject.

Dr. Joseph Crider serves as the dean of the School of Church Music and Worship at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Scripture-Guided Worship (Seminary Hill Press, 2021). Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-is-biblical-worship-joe-crider/. 

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Guest: Dr. Dustin Benge | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Benge on the topic of angels. Questions addressed in this conversation include: 1) What attributes do angels have? 2) When were angels created? 3) How did we get fallen angels, specifically Satan? 4) What is the purpose of angels? 5) Should we expect that people today will have interactions with angels? 6) How should we understand the concept of guardian angels? 7) What are some resources and cautions for further study on the topic of angelology?

Dr. Dustin Benge currently serves as provost at Union School of Theology in Wales, but will soon join The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as vice president of Communications and associate professor of Biblical Spirituality and Historical Theology. He is the author of several books, including A Journey Toward Heaven: Daily Devotions from the Sermons of Jonathan Edwards (Reformation Heritage Books, 2012), and Lifting Up Our Hearts: 150 Prayers from John Calvin (Reformation Heritage Books, 2012). Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-are-angels-dustin-benge/

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Guest: Dr. Matthew Barrett | Dr. Arnold interviews Matthew Barrett on the question of whether or not Adam was an actual historical figure. Topics of conversation include: 1) Some of the various evangelical views on creation, 2) Two of the Christian doctrines at stake if we deny that Adam was a historical person, 3) The false dichotomy between science and Scripture: God reveals himself through nature as well as the Bible, 4) Where the historicity of Adam falls in relation to theological triage, and 5) Resources for further study on this subject.

Dr. Matthew Barrett is associate professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the founder and executive director of Credo Magazine, as well as the host of Credo podcast. He is the author of several books, including Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021), None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God (Baker, 2019), and God’s Word Alone—The Authority of Scripture: What the Reformers Taught...and Why It Still Matters (Zondervan, 2016). Dr. Barrett is the editor of Four Views on the Historical Adam (Zondervan, 2013). Full show notes at https://ps.edu/was-adam-a-historical-person-matthew-barrett/

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Guest: Dr. Brandon Smith | Dr. Arnold interviews Brandon Smith about the early church fathers and their contributions to Christianity. Topics of conversation include 1) What do we mean by early church? 2) How should we understand and respond to some common objections to reading the church fathers?  3) What are some of the most significant doctrines established by the early church fathers? 4) Recommendations on where to start when it comes to reading primary sources.

Dr. Brandon Smith is assistant professor of Theology and New Testament at Cedarville University. He helped found the Center for Baptist Renewal and hosts the Church Grammar podcast. Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Theology and New Testament from Ridley College in Melbourne.

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-can-we-learn-from-the-early-church-brandon-smith/. 

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Guest: Greg Gilbert | Dr. Arnold interviews Greg Gilbert on the mission of the church. Topics of conversation include 1) A definition of the term mission, 2) A definition of the word church, 3) How the mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel and make disciples, 4) The difference between an individual Christian’s responsibility and the organized church’s role when it comes to engaging in good works, 5) How pastors should lead their churches in thinking through issues of social justice, poverty, etc.

Greg Gilbert is the senior pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. He is the author of Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation (Baker, 2019), and What Is the Gospel? (Crossway, 2010). He has also co-authored the book What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (Crossway, 2011).

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-is-the-mission-of-the-church-greg-gilbert/

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Guest: Greg Gilbert | Dr. Arnold interviews Greg Gilbert on the subject of the gospel. Topics of conversation include 1) A definition of the term gospel, 2) How there can be confusion over this word as it is commonly used today, 3) The four key principles that make up the gospel.

Greg Gilbert is the senior pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. He has co-authored the book What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (Crossway, 2011). He is the author of Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation (Baker, 2019), as well as What Is the Gospel? (Crossway, 2010)

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Guest: Dr. J. Michael Thigpen | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Thigpen on how to best understand the image of God. Topics of conversation include 1) The relational and representational aspects of being created in God’s image, 2) How the fall affects humanity’s reflection of the image of God, 3) The transformational process Christians experience as they are conformed to the image of Christ, 4) How rightly understanding the image of God affects our daily lives, 5) Resources for further study on this subject.

Dr. J. Michael Thigpen is provost and professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary. He previously served as the executive director of the Evangelical Theological Society, as well as an associate professor of Old Testament and Semitics at the Talbot School of Theology. Dr. Thigpen holds a PhD in Judaic, Hebraic, and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College.

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-is-the-image-of-god-j-michael-thigpen/. 

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Guest: Dr. Luke Stamps | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Stamps on the subject of Christ’s atonement for our sin. Topics of conversation include 1) A definition and explanation of penal-substitutionary atonement, 2) Where we see evidence and foreshadowing of the atonement in the Old Testament, 3) The importance of understanding the term propitiation, 4) Some of the other metaphors and symbols the New Testament uses to speak of Christ’s sacrifice, and 5) Resources for better understanding the atonement.

Dr. Luke Stamps is associate professor of Christian Studies at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. He holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/why-did-jesus-have-to-die-luke-stamps/

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Guest: Matt Smethurst | Dr. Arnold interviews Matt Smethurst about the role of deacons. Topics of conversation include 1) The three ways deacons serve and assist elders, 2) Scripture passages where the office of deacon is mentioned, both implicitly and explicitly, 3) How we should understand a deacon’s role in regards to church leadership, 4) Whether women should serve as deacons, and 5) Advice for structuring a healthy church government that includes godly, qualified deacons.

Matt Smethurst is managing editor of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of several books, including Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approaching God’s Word (10Publishing, 2019), Before You Share Your Faith: Nine Ways to Be Evangelism Ready (10Publishing, 2022), and Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Crossway, 2021).

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/what-are-deacons-matt-smethurst/

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Guest: Dr. Michael Kruger | Dr. Arnold interviews Dr. Kruger on how to stay Christian in a secular society. Topics of conversation include 1) Some of the issues most threatening to Christianity, 2) The presuppositions that have led to a majority secular worldview in modern universities, 3) How to give students the categories and framework for how to think, 4) The importance of navigating the two extremes of naive overconfidence and unbridled suspicion, and 5) Pastoral counsel for those who doubt

Dr. Michael Kruger serves as president of Reformed Theological Seminary’s Charlotte, North Carolina campus, as well as the Samuel C. Patterson professor of New Testament and Early Christianity. Dr. Kruger is the author of several books, including Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (IVP Academic, 2018), Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Crossway, 2012), and Surviving Religion 101 (Crossway, 2021).

Full show notes at https://ps.edu/how-to-stay-chri…y-michael-kruger/

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