STFI Podcast

Teacher: Dave Hanson

Both in the Bible and in the world around us, it is evident that one of the most fundamentally important relationships is the one that exists between a father and a child, and it’s no coincidence that one of the primary ways God relates to mankind—specifically to the Body of Christ—is as a Father figure. In this teaching by Dave Hanson, we will look at the topic of father figures from three angles: father and son relationships; what the love of the Father looks like; and what we should do with that great love that God has provided for us. We believe that this teaching will give you greater insight into the relationship between God and His children and how this bond enriches and empowers us to walk out our lives and serve God and others, following the leading of our Heavenly Father.

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

The rescue of mankind from the Enemy’s captivity was secured through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The cry of God’s heart through the ages of, “Let my people go!” finally became a spiritual reality when Christ escaped the hold of the grave, rising forever from the dead. But until the day comes when we are gathered to Christ, we must continue to live behind enemy lines. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher reminds us of our true heavenly citizenship, and the tension we presently live in between the two comings of Christ—the “already, but not yet.” We think that you will enjoy the three essential strategies presented, which we can all employ in order to live and thrive behind enemy lines.

Teacher: John Schoenheit

Jesus taught us that the second most important commandment in the whole Bible is that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Despite the fact that almost every Christian knows this, sometimes there is a surprising lack of love for one another in the Christian community. In this three-part teaching on loving our neighbors, John Schoenheit focuses first on why we should love our neighbor—the premise being that if we know the “why,” we will have more motivation to do as God commands. The second part looks at this commandment and shows how we already love ourselves, and how we need to love others. The third part discusses practical, loving things we should consider and do for those around us.

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

Stories are central to the way we connect with each other and the world around us, so much so that we often fail to realize that we all live inside the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and others’. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher illustrates how our minds are specifically designed for stories and the powerful force they play in our daily lives, and he reminds us that, as Rabbi Bernhardt Ott states, “The Bible is not a theology textbook full of definitions of God and the world, but rather a fascinating narrative, a not-yet finished story of God’s ongoing dealings with people throughout history. And we are all invited to be a part of this story.” We believe this teaching will help you to connect in a new way with the story that God is telling, and will also help you to reach others and connect them to His story.

Teacher: John Schoenheit 

There are a few things in the Bible that everyone seems to be aware of even if these subjects are misunderstood in many ways. One such topic is the banquet mentioned in Isaiah 25:6, which is a feast with the best of meats and the finest of wines which God will host in the Messianic Age. Just as with other biblical subjects, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about this great banquet. Today, in Christian circles, this feast is called “the wedding supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9 KJV). There are a number of things that keep people from understanding the great wedding banquet, which is part of the celebration of the inauguration of Jesus Christ as king over the earth. In this teaching, John Schoenheit covers the prophecy in Isaiah of the feast, and follows it through the Scriptures, showing what all saved people will enjoy in the future—a great celebratory banquet with the King of Kings.

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

Millions of people regularly gain inspiration and enlightenment from reading the Bible, and yet few really see the full story because they don’t understand the Covenants of God and the role they play. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher shows how the Covenants of God are a key piece to understanding His moves through history as He brings about His plans and purposes, explains the concept of a covenant, and then explores the major Covenants and their meanings. This teaching culminates with the New Covenant, the covenant which was instituted through Jesus and under which we now live. We pray that this teaching will help you to see that reading the Bible without a comprehension of God’s Covenants is like eating a cake without the sugar.

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment of all is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This being the case, it only makes sense that the greatest sin a person could commit would be idolatry—loving someone or something before God. At the root of all idolatry is pride: the desire to do things my way, not God’s way. In this teaching Dan Gallagher explores the insidious nature of pride, the various faces that it wears, where pride comes from, and some practical ways to lessen its vise-like grip on our hearts. The reality is that we all have pride, so if we are going to live the victorious life Jesus wants for us, we have to face our personal pride issues. After all, God declares that He “opposes the proud but shows grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

Over twenty years ago the author John Bevere wrote in the book, The Bait of Satan, that he had “observed one of the enemy’s most deadly and deceptive traps. It imprisons countless Christians, severs relationships and widens existing breaches between us. It is the trap of offense.” What he observed over two decades ago seems to have increased exponentially today. The spirit of offense is behind much of the tension in the world as it engenders frustration, resentment, anger, and bitterness between people. The result is an increasing loss of compassion; coldness; and even hatred. As people lose the ability to genuinely dialogue about differences, they lose the ability to hear one another, discuss these differences, and most importantly the ability to spread the Good News of Jesus. In this teaching, Dan Gallagher exposes the problem of offense, the cause behind it, and the godly solutions we can all employ to free ourselves from the Enemy’s trap of being “offended.”

Teacher: John Schoenheit

A great biblical truth, but one not well-known by the Church, is that God has an inner divine council of spirit beings with whom He works to administer the universe. There is good biblical evidence for this, and it also makes perfect sense when we think of the way God works with His creation: when God created mankind, He gave them dominion over the animals; when our numbers increased, He asked us to appoint rulers and judges who would administer a godly society; and when He raised Jesus from the dead, He gave him all authority and made him ruler of His creation, just to give a few examples. Similarly, before mankind existed, God had a council of ruling spirits to help Him administer His creation. In this teaching, John Schoenheit goes over many of the verses of Scripture that reveal this divine council, and shows that they have been active in the past in helping God, and will continue in that role in the future as well.

Teacher: Dan Gallagher

God is a master in His use of irony. There are different forms of irony, but whether verbal or situational, they involve events that happen in exact opposition to what is intended. There are times when the irony is very subtle, but there are others when it is so unmistakable that it seems to be a neon billboard brightly flashing the words, “God is at work here!” In this teaching, Dan Gallagher uses a number of examples to show God’s use of irony, starting in Genesis, going through a number of Old Testament records, the Gospels, and the crucifixion of Christ. We believe that this teaching will inspire you and help you to get more in touch with God’s use of irony, not only in His Word but also in your own personal life, so that you too will say, “God truly is at work here!”