Timothy was one of Paul's co-workers and proteges. In this letter, Paul instructed him in all kinds of things concerning the household of God, from elders and deacons to widows and quarrels. Today, 1 Timothy is like a manual for navigating the extended family of God that is the church. Cole and Terry do an overview of the book, talk about difficult texts, and apply the letter to today. 

For more on deacons, see this white paper. 

Questions in this episode:

Does every symbol have an explanation? 

In this first episode, we answer these questions: 

Did the early church think Jesus was coming back in the first century? 

Who are the angels to the seven churches? 

What research and resources are you doing for this series?

The parable of the ten virgins is rarely taught. Ten women wait for the bridegroom who delays into the night. When he comes, five have oil and the others don't. What does it all mean? In this episode, Cole and Terry cover this difficult text, looking at Jesus's teaching on the second coming, perseverance, and being watchful in the meantime. 

Starting next week, Terry Feix will begin a 15-week study of the book of Revelation on Wednesday nights at Crossings Community Church. In addition to that, we'll be answering your Revelation questions on Fridays on the So We Speak podcast.

Text questions during the lesson or email us at [email protected]. 

Can we trust the Bible? How do we know that what we're reading today is what God actually said thousands of years ago? John Meade and Peter Gurry answer these questions in their new book Scribes & Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible. In this episode, Cole talks with John about the history of the Bible, the manuscript tradition, how we know we have the right books, and what translations to use. 

Who were these mysterious magi that came to worship Christ? Were they three kings from the orient? Were they magicians? In this Christmas episode, Cole and Terry discuss the different theories and clues about the identity of the Magi. 

Cole's Favorite Books: 

Rogues - Patrick Radden Keefe

Scribes and Scripture - John Meade and Peter Gurry

The Life We're Looking For - Andy Crouch

The Existence and Attributes of God - Stephen Charnock

Churchill & Son - Josh Ireland 

Terry's Favorite Books:

Innovation - Peter Ackroyd

Leadership - Henry Kissinger 

A Non-Anxious Presence - Mark Sayers 

Strange New World - Carl Trueman 

Post your favorite So We Speak article or this episode to enter our Christmas book giveaway! 

The story of Joseph is the capstone of the book of Genesis, but it also points forward to many things to come, including the story of Daniel and Christ's death on the cross. In this episode, Cole is joined by Sam Emadi to talk about his book From Prisoner to Prince: The Joseph Story in Biblical Theology. They discuss the role of biblical theology, how to see the big themes of Scripture, and the important role the Joseph story plays in the story of Scripture. 

Were people in Corinth being baptized on behalf of dead people? 1 Corinthians 15:29 is just an example in Paul's argument, but it has baffled commentators and Bible readers ever since. Cole and Terry discuss whether the Corinthians were actually doing baptisms on behalf of people who have died or if there is another explanation of this verse.