Reformed Podmatics

This week's topic comes from a listener in Blyth, ON who is curious to hear an explanation for and defense of the Reformed articulation of predestination and irresistible grace. In particular, she's interested to see how we would respond to the oft-repeated claim that "God wouldn’t force people to love Him because He’s a gentleman.” So by using the Scriptures and the Canons of Dort, we aim to do just that, laying out a case for how the Reformed view is deeply biblical, catholic, and pastoral, as well as how it best matches up with the experience of spiritual rebirth. 

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

With all that's going on around us, it can be easy to despair and forget that God is still at work bringing His flock to Himself by the power of the gospel. In this week's episode we take a look at some of the encouraging trends going on in our world today that help us see and find joy in all that God is doing among us today. From the decline of New Atheism to the rise of Christian YouTube, from the increase of Bible sales in 2024 to conversion of high-profile intellectuals there is much going on that ought to cause us to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord. So we hope this little exercise helps you to share in our joy.

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

In the modern world today there is such a dizzying array of different Christian denominations and traditions that it's easy to get lost and confused. In order to exhibit the spirit of mere Christianity where we can appreciate and benefit from other Christians, we need to better understand the Christian family tree and the different branches. In doing so, we need to develop joyful discernment, not so we can look down on other Christians, but so we can know what to look out for as we learn from them and appreciate the gifts they bring to the table. In this week's episode, we aim to do just that, first by exploring the family tree and then by thinking through how to be discerning so as to best learn from others.

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

'Tis the season for a Reformed Podmatics discussion about Christmas movies! This week, as good Neo-Calvinists, we take a little time to reflect on some of the most beloved Christmas films like A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Home Alone and examine what they get right, what they get wrong, and what they suggest to us about how our culture sees the Christian faith.

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

With Advent now well and truly upon us, 'tis the season for some prophecy! This week, sparked by a radio preacher Mark heard who taught that Isaiah 19's prophecies about the conversion of Egypt are being fulfilled as we speak, we decided that for this week's episode we'd dig in a little bit to how Reformed Christians have and ought to think about the predictive prophecies given to us in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

In every age, the Church faces new obstacles and trials and is tasked with faithful living, thinking, believing, praying, and witnessing. It's all too easy, given the circumstances, to lose perspective and think either too much of the current generation or too little. What we need, then, is the perspective of the aged and the spiritual ballast and balance that they bring. In this week's episode, we aim to convince both the old and the young of the important place that the elderly serve within the larger body of Christ. For some, this will be an encouragement. For others, a challenge. But we hope that, for all of you, it is a blessing. And maybe, once you finish the episode, go give a listen to Bing Crosby's old Christmas classic, "Faith of Our Fathers". You'll be glad you did!

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

How are Christians to approach the Word of God? Should we come at it like a textbook which, if carefully studied, will provide explicit answers and commands to guide every quandary and conundrum we face? Or maybe more like a manual to guide every decision? Or perhaps even like a superstitious text which will give us its power if we wear it on our clothes or slap it on a car sticker. Or maybe--just maybe--it's different. Maybe there's a deper way. In this week's episode, we aim to show how a Reformed approach to Scripture will help us avoid the dangers of biblicism, (bad) prooftexting, and being minimally "biblically-informed."

Being Biblical™: When the Bible Becomes a Brand, by Alastair Roberts

Reformed Catholicity: The Promise of Retrieval for Theology and Biblical Interpretation, by Michael Allen & Scott Swain

Other links:

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

As a podcast which gets its name from Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, Neo-Calvinism is obviously a theological tradition and project near and dear to our hearts. But it's one that so often gets a bad rap, or is misconstrued. In this week's episode, spurred on by our conversations with recent guests over the past few months, we seek to take stock not only of what it is, but to explore some of its native tensions as well as the ways in which it is often viewed by others in the broader Reformed tradition. 

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

After a week away and several weeks since our last episode in this series, we've returned once again to explore the Reformed faith this time with special guest, Dr. Gerald Bray, research professor at Beeson Divinity School (Birmingham, AL) and an evangelical church historian and theologian from the Church of England. His seminal works include God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology, A History of Christian Theology: A Trinitarian Approach, Augustine On the Christian Life, and Anglicanism: A Reformed Catholic Tradition. He's also served as an editor for a few volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and has written extensively on the history of biblical interpretation. As a historian and Calvinist, Dr. Bray makes the perfect guest to help us explore the riches of the Reformed tradition.

Visit www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity for more information about Beeson Divinity School.

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

What better way to celebrate Reformation Day than with an old friend from the Lutheran Church? Join with Pastor Mark as he interviews his old friend, Jonathon Bolt, who now teaches at a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod day school in New Haven, Indiana. In this week's conversation, we get into the commonalities and distinctions of Reformed and Lutheran theology as well as our two traditions' approaches to Christian education. We hope this is a fruitful dialogue for this special day!

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.