Foundational U

Did Jesus Christ really exist, or was He simply a figure created by religious tradition? Can we trust the historical record surrounding His life, crucifixion, and resurrection?
In this episode of Foundational U, I examine the historical evidence for Jesus Christ and address claims that His existence is uncertain or that the accounts of His life are merely mythological.
I'll look at references to Jesus in the writings of ancient historians and other sources, including Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, and the Babylonian Talmud. We'll also consider early Christian writings and the testimony recorded by the Apostle Paul concerning the resurrection of Jesus and the many people who saw Him alive after His crucifixion.
But this question is about more than whether Jesus existed as a historical person. Who was He, and why does His identity matter?
The Christian faith rests on the truth of who Jesus is, His death and resurrection, and the salvation He offers to humanity. Understanding the historical evidence helps us engage honestly with questions about the foundations of our faith.
Join me as we examine the evidence and consider why Jesus Christ is more than a figure in history.
In the next episode, we'll explore what makes Jesus Christ unique.
Subscribe to Foundational U for biblical teaching, Christian apologetics, and thoughtful examination of the questions facing followers of Jesus Christ.
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What shapes the way you see the world? Your family, education, culture, and personal experiences, or the unchanging truth of God's Word?
In this episode of Foundational U, I explore the difference between a biblical worldview and a humanistic worldview, and why the distinction matters for every area of our lives.
In Judges 2, we read a sobering account of a generation that grew up without knowing the Lord or remembering what He had done for Israel. That warning challenges us to consider whether we're passing our faith to the next generation and teaching them to build their lives on biblical truth.
I'll explain how humanism, materialism, rationalism, and relativism influence the way people understand truth, morality, identity, and purpose. Then we'll look at what a biblical worldview teaches us about God, creation, spiritual reality, absolute truth, and wisdom from above.
We'll also explore Proverbs 4 and the vital relationship between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom: learning God's Word, understanding God's ways, and learning to see life's circumstances from His perspective.
The question isn't simply what you believe. It's whether your beliefs are shaping your decisions according to God's truth.
Join me as we consider why we need a biblical worldview and how we can live by the wisdom of God's Word.
📖 **Read the companion Substack article:**https://fdeanh.substack.com
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What happens when you face a crisis and realize you’ve lost your sense of direction?
In the fall of 1979, I found myself lost on the slopes of Mount St. Helens after foolishly heading into the woods without my compass. Panic set in, and I desperately wanted to run, but I knew that running without knowing where I was would only make things worse. Instead, I stopped, prayed, remembered landmarks, and worked my way from one point of reference to another until I finally made it back to the road.
That experience taught me something I believe applies directly to life. Many people facing a crisis don't know where to turn, so they run from one crisis into another, eventually living in fear, isolation, and emotional pain. But God has given us a compass.
In this episode, I explore how God's Word provides the standard we need to make quality choices and build healthy relationships, and why we can't simply follow the values handed to us by family, education, media, peers, or culture.
I also use the difference between grid north, magnetic north, and true north to explain why we need spiritual True North if we're going to live with wisdom, love, and joy.
If you've ever felt lost, overwhelmed, or unsure which direction to take, this episode is for you.
This is Part 1. In the next episode, we'll explore how to follow True North.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/are-you-following-the-right-compass/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What happens to a culture when it removes God and rejects biblical truth?
In this episode of Foundational U, I look at Hosea 4 and the warning God gave to a people who had rejected knowledge of Him: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” I then examine one of the defining questions of our culture: Where do we find truth, and who has the authority to define what is right and wrong?
Science, medicine, and law are valuable disciplines, but as Albert Einstein pointed out in his 1939 address on science and religion, science alone cannot tell us what should be. It can describe what is, but it cannot answer the deepest questions of human existence: Who am I?
Why am I here? What is right and wrong? What is my purpose? What happens after death?
Those answers ultimately require something beyond human knowledge. They require the truth of God's Word.
When God's Word is removed from a culture, darkness grows. Scripture is the light we need to understand who we are, why we're here, and how we should live.
Listen now and consider what happens when a culture gains knowledge but loses sight of the truth.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/when-a-culture-rejects-god/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What happens when the church loses sight of the truth?
Florence Chadwick was an accomplished long distance swimmer who faced freezing water, rough seas, sharks, exhaustion, and thick fog during one of her attempted crossings. Yet the greatest obstacle wasn't the cold or the sharks. She lost sight of the shore, and when she could no longer see the goal, she lost heart.
I believe that same danger confronts the church today.
In this episode of Foundational U, I examine what happens when the church loses sight of its biblical vision and begins allowing the culture around it to shape its thinking, teaching, and understanding of truth.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that His followers would remain in the world while being sanctified by the truth, because "Your Word is truth." He didn't call the church to become like the world. He sent His disciples into the world to influence it through the Gospel and through lives shaped by God's truth.
I discuss:
Why the church must keep its eyes on the biblical goal
How cultural pressure can obscure the truth
Why Jesus said His followers are not of the world
Why the church must remain grounded in God's Word
What happens when human philosophy begins replacing biblical truth
Why disciples of Jesus Christ must preach Scripture without compromise
How returning to God's Word can clear away the fog and restore hope
The church isn't called to let the culture determine what we believe.
We're called to influence the culture through the truth of God's Word.
If you've found this teaching helpful, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs this reminder.
The fog doesn't have to determine our direction. Keep your eyes on the truth and keep moving toward the goal.
#Christianity #Church #BiblicalTruth #GodsWord #BibleTeaching #ChristianFaith #Discipleship #JesusChrist #FoundationalU #DeanHackett
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/when-the-church-loses-sight-of-the-truth/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

Can we really trust the Bible?
In a culture where people increasingly question absolute truth, we need to know whether the Bible truly deserves our confidence. If God's Word is the foundation of our faith, then we need to know why we can trust it.
In this episode of Foundational U, I examine several powerful reasons why I believe the Holy Bible is God's infallible and trustworthy Word.
I look at biblical prophecy, including Isaiah's prophecy concerning Cyrus and Daniel's revelation of future kingdoms, and I explain how Scripture recorded historical events hundreds of years before they occurred. I also look at the many prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and the remarkable details Scripture recorded about His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection.
I also discuss the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the remarkable preservation of the Isaiah scroll, which provides important historical evidence concerning the transmission of the biblical text.
But there's another reason I trust God's Word: God keeps His promises.
I've experienced that personally. At age 20, I was diagnosed with an incurable disease and told that I would eventually become unable to walk. After prayer, God healed me, and more than five decades later, I continue to testify to that healing.
God's Word has proven trustworthy throughout history, and it remains trustworthy today.
You can trust the Bible.
If you want to understand why I believe God's Word is reliable, watch this episode of Foundational U and consider the evidence for yourself.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/can-we-really-trust-the-bible/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What makes the Word of God so powerful?
The Bible isn't simply another book written by men. It is the living Word of the living God, and its power reaches far beyond information or instruction.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “the word of God is alive and powerful,” and I've seen that truth demonstrated again and again as God's Word has brought conviction, renewed minds, strengthened faith, and transformed lives.
In this episode of Foundational U, I look at why the Bible is different from every other book and why Christians can confidently build their lives upon Scripture.
I also examine what the apostles Peter and Paul taught about the inspiration of Scripture, why God's Word can discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and why Scripture gives us both correction when we're wrong and instruction in how to live rightly.
I've also seen the transforming power of God's Word firsthand in the lives of people who experienced addiction, mental brokenness, and the devastating effects of human trafficking.
Jesus said:
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The Word of God doesn't simply tell us about freedom.
God's Word brings freedom.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/why-is-the-word-of-god-so-powerful/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What are you building your life on?
Jesus said that the person who hears His words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. When the rain came, the floods rose, and the winds blew, that house stood because its foundation was secure.
But Jesus also warned that the person who hears His words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
The question is simple:
What is your life built on?
In this episode of Foundational U, I look at why the Word of God must be the foundation of the Christian life.
The Psalmist says that the person who delights in God's Word and meditates on it day and night will be like a tree planted by rivers of water.
God's Word is not simply another source of information or advice. It is the foundation of truth that remains steadfast from generation to generation.
In this episode, I discuss:
Why Jesus emphasized abiding in His Word
What it means to build your life on the Rock
Why Scripture must shape the Christian's thinking and daily life
Why God's Word is settled forever
The danger of replacing God's Word with human reasoning and philosophy
How God's Word has endured through generations of cultural and political change
Why Christians need to read, memorize, meditate on, and obey Scripture
Why the Word of God will ultimately prevail
I also share from my own experience ministering in Prague shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and witnessing firsthand the opportunity to preach the Gospel in a place that had previously been closed to it.
The philosophies of men come and go.
Governments rise and fall.
Cultures change.
But the Word of God endures.
And that is why I have to ask myself—and why I believe every Christian should ask themselves:
What am I building my life on?
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/what-are-you-building-your-life-on/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

In a culture where truth is increasingly treated as relative, where do we go to find something we can actually trust?
That is the question I want to explore in this episode of Foundational U.
The philosophy of postmodernism and deconstruction has challenged the idea of absolute truth, leading many people to believe that what is true for one person may not be true for another. But when we remove absolute truth, we also remove the foundation for determining what is right, wrong, good, and evil.
So where do we find truth?
Jesus gave us the answer:
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
I believe truth has its foundation in Jesus Christ and in the Word of God. Scripture doesn't simply give us religious ideas. It gives us the foundation we need to understand who we are, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.
In this episode, I look at:
Why the idea of relative truth is so destructive
Why every culture needs an objective foundation for truth
Why I believe the Bible provides that foundation
What Paul meant when he said that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God
Why God's Word is essential for correction, instruction, and righteous living
What Joshua teaches us about building our lives around God's Word
Why Psalm 1 calls us to meditate on Scripture day and night
I also address an important question that we will explore in the next episode:
Are the Holy Scriptures reliable, and can we really build our lives upon them?
I hope you'll join me as we continue this important conversation about truth, Scripture, and the foundation of our faith.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/where-do-we-find-truth/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#FollowingJesus #ChristianDiscipleship #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #JesusChrist

What happens when a culture loses its foundations?
When truth becomes subjective, biblical convictions are compromised, and foundational principles are removed from society, what happens next?
In this episode of Foundational U, Dr. Dean Hackett examines the biblical warning found in Psalm 11:3: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Drawing from 1 Timothy 4 and Jude, Dean explores what Scripture says about deception, departing from the faith, changing biblical doctrine, and the responsibility of Christians to protect and faithfully pass on the truth of God's Word.
Dean argues that Christians are not called to allow culture to shape the Church. Instead, disciples of Jesus are called to become "a beacon of light in the darkness" and salt that influences the culture rather than being influenced by it.
In this episode, you'll discover:
What Psalm 11:3 means when the foundations are destroyed
Why Jude commanded believers to "contend earnestly for the faith"
Why Christians have a responsibility to preserve and pass on biblical truth
Why truth cannot simply be reduced to "your truth" and "my truth"
How Christians can speak truth with love without compromise
Why the Church must become a light in the darkness
Why this generation needs believers who are willing to stand firmly on God's Word
Dean also looks ahead to the next episode, where he will address an important question:
How do we discover truth, and where do we find it?
If you've ever wondered how Christians should respond when biblical truth is challenged or cultural values conflict with Scripture, this episode will challenge you to examine where your own foundation rests.
📖 **Read the companion article:**
https://fdeanhackett.com/what-happens-when-a-culture-loses-its-foundations/
🎧 **Listen on Spotify:**
https://open.spotify.com/show/3aXQexmHXXGWFkWlPaRlnp
🌐 **Visit our website:**
https://fdeanhackett.com
If this teaching encouraged you, please **Like**, **Subscribe**, and **Share** this video so more people can discover what the Bible teaches about following Jesus and becoming authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Every week on **Foundational U with Dr. Dean Hackett**, we explore biblical truth, Christian discipleship, apologetics, Christian living, theology, and practical Bible teaching to help believers build a strong foundation in God's Word.
#BiblicalTruth #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #StandFirm #BiblicalWorldview #JesusChrist #GodsWord #Faith #FoundationalU #DeanHackett #Jude #Psalm11 #ChristianEncouragement