Paul's "thorn in the flesh" has sparked countless theories about physical ailments and personal struggles, but the answer may be simpler than we think. Seth and David explore Paul's third heaven experience and show how his thorn in the flesh connects to the pattern of Old Testament prophets and God's power being made perfect in weakness.

Paul spends two entire chapters in 2 Corinthians asking for money, which seems to contradict his earlier insistence that he never charged the Corinthians for his ministry.

In this podcast episode, Seth and David explore Paul's teaching on generosity and show how he reframes giving as participating in God's miracle of provision and proving the genuineness of our faith through Christ-like sacrifice.

The phrase "do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" is commonly applied to Christian marriage, but that wasn't Paul's original intent. Seth and David explore the rich biblical background of this famous passage and show how Paul was actually warning the Corinthians against yoking themselves to false teachers who were leading them away from Jesus and his Gospel.

Everyone in Mark's trial narrative bears false witness about who Jesus is—the religious leaders, the crowds, and even Peter who denies knowing him three times. But Jesus himself bears true witness, revealing that he is the merciful God who dies for those who betray him. In this podcast episode, David explores how this passage completes the story Scripture has been telling since Eden about God's relentless pursuit of his unfaithful people.

For the first time in Mark's Gospel, Jesus crosses from Jewish territory into Gentile lands to confront the spiritual forces that have oppressed the nations. In this podcast episode, David walks through the longest exorcism account in Scripture, showing how Jesus fulfills God's promise to bless all nations by liberating a man possessed by a legion of demons and demonstrating his authority over every fallen spiritual power.

The Pharisees created extra laws around God's commands to bring the Messiah and restore Israel as a blessing to the world. But when Jesus comes, he shows that he is the fulfillment, authority, and purpose of the law. In this podcast episode, David walks through three stories in Mark where Jesus demonstrates His lordship over the Sabbath and reveals Himself as the long-awaited bridegroom, King, and God of the new creation.

In this podcast episode, David Bowden delves into Mark 1:2-15 on John the Baptist.

In this episode of the Spoken Gospel Podcast, David and Seth explore one of the most challenging passages in 1 Corinthians - chapter 14. They examine Paul's teachings on spiritual gifts, particularly tongues and prophecy, as well as his instructions for orderly worship. Given Corinth's pagan context, Paul is determined to teach these new Christians that the purpose of their God-given gifts is to benefit and build up one another rather than competitively trying to outdo one another.

In this episode of the Spoken Gospel Podcast, David and Seth explore the controversial passage on head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11. They examine the cultural context of ancient Corinth, unpack Paul's arguments, and reveal how this challenging text ultimately points to the beauty of Jesus and the Gospel.

In this episode of the Spoken Gospel podcast, David and Seth explore the complex issue of food sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8-10. They unpack the historical context of Corinth as a pagan Greek city and how new Christian converts struggled with questions about eating meat offered to idols.