Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

Many believers in all seasons of life understand what it feels like to fervently pray for the desires of their hearts. One listener wrote to us about the sorrow he endured due to childlessness despite his prayers, and the isolation and stigma he experienced in church as a result. He asked us to talk more about what it means when God says no to our prayers. This is a sensitive topic, but important to discuss, and we’re grateful to him for bringing it to our attention. Sharing our experiences and testimonies gives hope to others in similar situations. It calls for accountability in our words and actions. Together, let’s dig into Scripture for biblical insight and comfort as we discuss the pain and struggle of unanswered prayer in the lives of individual believers and in the community of faith. 

Listeners like you send us their questions about theology and faith as they study God’s Word. Was Judas saved even though he betrayed Jesus? How do I share my faith with non-believers? What if people I love are resistant to hearing about Jesus? How should I pray for people who are unsaved? Join us as we dig into Scripture to discuss what we know about Judas, learn about the Great Commission Jesus gave us, evangelism, and intercessory prayer for non-believers. 

As humans, we are uniquely aware of time. We talk about the passing of time, we think about the end of time, and we often wish for more time. Sometimes it feels like time is fleeting and sometimes feels like time drags on. Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes contains one of the book’s most well-known passages. The Teacher opens “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” He then goes on to share a well-known list of life’s seasons. He  calls time a burden, but also says God has “set eternity in the human heart.” Join us as we discuss the association between wisdom and recognizing the seasons of life, as we seek to understand what it means to have eternity in our hearts, and as we receive the Teacher’s encouragement and advice for finding hope and meaning in life.

Do you find joy and satisfaction in your work? Or do you consider work a necessary evil? Many of us spend huge portions of our life working, sometimes doing paid work, other times unpaid. You might say that work is a common theme in each of our lives. It’s also a common theme in the book of Ecclesiastes. In his writings, the Teacher repeatedly comes to the conclusion that work, labor, and toil are meaningless. But is it really that simple? If we carefully study the Teacher’s conclusions, we’ll discover some insightful wisdom about work and our identity, about why our motivation for work matters, about work/life balance, and about the secret for finding joy and satisfaction in our work.

Does life ever feel repetitive, monotonous? Like day in, day out your struggles are the same, your joys seem fleeting, and nothing ever changes. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes echoed this very sentiment. Throughout the book, we repeatedly read his refrain, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” He considers wisdom, knowledge, and pleasure and determines that all of these are meaningless pursuits in life, they will not provide any lasting value. Join us as we examine what the Teacher means by declaring everything meaningless and discover what we can learn about our life of faith and where we can find value, meaning, and hope in life in the midst of, and in spite of, the Teacher’s grim pronouncement. 

Hebrews shows us why we should remain faithful to Jesus and how to cultivate a faith that endures. Now, as Hebrews concludes, the author shows us how to live and the kind of people we should be when our confidence is in Christ alone. Learn about God’s loving discipline, the unshakable kingdom we’ve received through Christ, and the everyday faithfulness that marks God’s people on their path of discipleship.

How do we cultivate a lasting faith? The author of Hebrews calls believers to stay close to Jesus, remaining faithful in all circumstances. After summarizing Christ’s supremacy in all things, the author launches into one of the most famous passages in Hebrews, a whole chapter dedicated to those who “by faith” persevered through life’s tough challenges. Together, let’s learn why community and the testimony of fellow believers are essential for cultivating a faith that endures through the difficult seasons in life.

Humans are sinful; therefore, the feeling of guilt is inevitable. Guilt has weight; it becomes a burden we struggle under even after we know we’ve been forgiven. The author of Hebrews offers weary believers reassurance that God has provided the means to deal with our guilt once and for all. Let’s study what Hebrews teaches us about the new covenant, the meaning of the tabernacle, the sacrificial system in Israel’s worship, and how they ultimately pointed to Christ. Together, we’ll discover how this relates to our lives today and invites us to draw near to Jesus Christ. 

Do you ever feel alone, like no one understands what you’re going through? The author of Hebrews encourages us to stay close to Jesus in these moments. To help us understand the extent to which Jesus understands, cares about, and meets our needs, Hebrews draws a connection between Jesus Christ and the Old Testament high priest, Melchizedek. Join us as we discuss the role of a high priest, discover who Melchizedek was, and see why Jesus really is our ultimate high priest. Together, let’s explore what that means for our relationship with God and our daily lives.