Most Certainly True Podcast

It’s not as easy as you think, to smoothly end a podcast episode.  Here’s the story, Pastors Strong and Hackmann were so enamored with the glory of who our God is that they forgot how to end the show.  Listen to this episode and praise our God who reveals himself to us in his holy Word. Explore the glory in everything that we know about our Triune God and then laugh with our pastors (not at them, please)  as they look for a gentle way to “land” the episode.  

Ash Wednesday:  Remembering that We are Dust

Christians gather to begin the somber season of Lent – a 40 day period of repentance, reflection, and sorrow over sin.    The name Ash Wednesday, comes from Genesis 3:19 and the reminder that we are given there about our sinful mortal state.  After the Fall into sin, God declares to Adam and Eve:  “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”   Mindful of our sinful state, our inability to please God and the fact that our sins caused Jesus’ passion, we come before God’s throne with heavy hearts to confess our sins.  Yet, even on this day of sorrow, the light of the love of God shines forth to point us to the cross and the forgiving grace that flows from there! 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us!  We don’t deserve your ear to hear us, your eyes to see us, your heart to consider us, yet, you do all these things and so much more.  We praise you for your love and forgiveness.  Helps us to never forget the lengths to which you went to save us.  Keep us ever remembering, ever repenting of our sins, ever rejoicing in your love – for you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the one and only, our true and saving God!   Amen.    

Jesus appears in glory as the Son of God.

Shortly before he began his journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die, Jesus took three of his disciples to a high mountain and showed them the divine reality that existed within his humble appearance: the Suffering Servant is truly the Son of God. We see this same sight through the eyes of faith as we prepare to follow the Savior to the cross during Lent.

Prayer:

Lord God, before the suffering and death of your one and only Son, you revealed his glory on the holy mountain. Grant that we who bear his cross on earth may behold by faith the light of his heavenly glory and so be changed into his likeness; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

A gift is only worthwhile if it is used and used in the proper way.  God’s Word is an enormous gift to mankind, yet it doesn’t come without God’s instructions on how to use it!  In this latest episode, Pastors Huebner and Hackmann discuss the Proper Use of the Bible.  Four rules of biblical interpretation are explored and put into practice.   The discussion ends with the need for and purpose of creeds and confessions.    This discussion on Grace Abounds chapter 4 rounds out the introductory chapters on the Word of God!  

Live a holy life.

How does God want us to live? How do we define “obedience” from God’s point of view? Jesus has the answer.

Prayer:

Lord God, in mercy receive the prayers of your people. Grant them the wisdom to know the things that please you and the grace and power always to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Pastors Hackmann and Huebner sit down to discuss chapter 3 of Grace Abounds and 4 characteristics of  the Bible – that it is Inerrant, efficacious, sufficient, and clear.  Ironically the podcast will be almost none of those things (hopefully still efficacious), because a setting was not properly enabled and the laptop microphone took over again! (Argh!!)   We’ve tried our best to make it the best that we can.  As you listen, you can ponder how much wildly better God is than Pastor Hackmann.   He’ll get it right one of these weeks!  Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for listening!!

Be salt and light.

How do we live our lives among the people we know and love? Jesus’ answer is critical for the happiness and contentment of others.

Prayer:

Almighty God, you sent your one and only Son as the Word of life for our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Help us believe what the Scriptures proclaim about him and do the things that are pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The B-I-B-L-E is the topic of Chapter 2 of Grace Abounds.   Pastors Hackmann and Strong chat about the importance of the Bible and how it is God’s revealing to us who he is, who we are, and how much he loves us.  The doctrine of inspiration is discussed and how it is a guarantee for us that what we have before us in our home Bibles is clearly and truly the Word of God.

We are blessed as we live humbly with God.

How do we find genuine and lasting happiness and contentment? Jesus’ answers may surprise us.

Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, look with mercy on us in all our dangers and needs and stretch out the right hand of your majesty to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

By nature we ask questions that have supernatural or religious significance.  We yearn to know: Why am I here? Where have I come from? Where has everything around me come from and why does it exist? Where am I going?  What is the point and purpose of life, of joy, of suffering, of death?  What happens after death? Is there a God out there? Am I acocuntable to him?...Religions exist to deal with and provide answers to these questions (page 4).

Why Doctrine?  Why study doctrine?  Why should we read a 560 page book on doctrine and then spend time talking about what we read?  In his Word to us we can know his love for us!

God unveils his existence to us through what we might call "the natural knowledge of God."   In the beauty, complexity and wonder of nature we can know that there is a God.  In the fact that we have a conscience (and that every other has a conscience and it speaks to the same set of moral laws) we can know that there is something higher than us.  And in the coming chapters we see God reveal himself to us in his Word.