The Bible Lab

One of the most controversial texts in the Old Testament prophetic books is the 70 weeks passage in Daniel 9. What is God saying, and what does the timeline mean? In this episode, Ryan and Jake explore how we can make sense of this passage with a high view of Jesus at the center!

A time, times, and half a time. How do we understand some of the predictions of the future that Daniel's vision reveals? How do we navigate the uncertainty of the future when it may involve suffering? Jesus gives us a hope and a joy that outshines suffering and alleviates our future fears. In this week's episode, Ryan and Jake discuss a confident approach to understanding suffering and God's call to faithfulness under fire.

It's the end of the world... or is it? Christians have varying ideas about what the Scriptures teach when it comes to eschatology (last things). It can be confusing to navigate to the point that many Christians throw up their hands in frustration. Nonetheless, what we believe about the end matters, because it changes how we approach the present! Join in as we start to explore Daniel 7 and other "apocalyptic" passages!

Joy is a Biblical command. We're called to it. It's a Christian duty, and one of the ways that followers really are called to be lights in the world. Because of Jesus, we can paint with different colors in a world that's full of black and grays. What does it mean to rejoice always? How do we do that when we constantly struggle to feel joyful? This week, Ryan and Jake talk about joy in Jesus and much more!

We have a hard time letting go of the past. Even as Christians, we hang onto past failures and mistakes. It impacts our ability to move into the future that Jesus has won for us. But Jesus never intended for us to stay stuck in the things of the past. In this week's episode, Jake and Ryan explore Philippians 3:12-4:1 and discuss how being gripped by grace frees us to let go of the past and reach for God's glorious future.

In this week's episode Athletes In Action missionary Everett Schroeder joins the podcast to talk about Philippians 2:12-18 and understanding the work that God does in the life of the believer through Christ. To put it simply, God does a work FOR us, and does a work IN us, so that He can do a work THROUGH us. Join in on the discussion as we discuss why each of these Gospel truths really is good news!

There have been many epic showdowns on the big screen: Godzilla v. King Kong, Luke v. Darth Vader, etc. You could probably name a few as well. What about Paul v. Jesus? Setting Paul's words against Jesus' words is a trend in modern scholarship. What's the deal? Do we need to see them in opposition or can we reconcile them? What does the Bible have to say on the topic? On this week's episode, Ryan and Jake hit back at modern scholarship's attempt to set them apart by drawing on the unity of Scripture.

This world is deadly, and in more ways than one. Yet, in Philippians 1, we read about the Apostle Paul having joy and confidence in saying: "to live is Christ, to die is gain." That sort of peace doesn't come naturally in the world, it can only come by way of the grace of Christ. In this week's episode, Ryan and Jake discuss how living for Christ can bring us joy even in a deadly world.

As we start a new series on Philippians, we take a look at the opening of the letter and what the Apostle Paul's greeting tells us about the nature of Gospel friendships. In this episode, Ryan and Jake discuss Gospel friendship and why it is both unique and needed in a world in a world that experiences loneliness.

Words have power. We know that. Whether it's movie quotes or lines from famous books, some words just seem to stick with us. None, however, compare to the words of Jesus. In this episode, Ryan and Jake discuss the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11; how we might understand Jesus' call to leave the grave behind and how post-modern metaphor/narrative driven interpretation does damage to our understanding of Scripture because Scripture is not about us, it's about Jesus!