In this episode we work through Mark 1:1-8, get introduced to two major characters in the story and and see how a dude wearing clothes made of camel hair and eating bugs gets lots of people to repent of their sins, get dunked in a river and find new life.

Also I ask about the notebook you use when you study the Bible. A notebook (and writing in it) is an important way to engage the text at a deeper level than simply reading it. I’d love to know what kind you use. Email a link or a pic of your notebook to [email protected].

In this episode I explain the difference between the text of Scripture and the events in the text, describe the primary theme of the Gospel of Mark, highlight a key recurring pattern to pay attention to in the story and show you the dramatic tension the author sets up for us as readers in the text.

Also I read a killer shout out to Pastor Danny Lamonte at First Evangelical Free Church in Lincoln Nebraska from Karen Lynne Knaup who listens to him preach there every week. If you want to shout out your favorite local pastor, teacher or ministry leader who teaches you the word faithfully each week and helps you grow, send me their name, your church, the town you’re in and a couple sentences about why they rule. Email it to [email protected] and I’ll read it in an upcoming episode.

In this episode I share two big changes that are coming to my podcast in 2021 and explain why we’re making them. I’m thankful that you’ve listened in the past and I’m stoked for the changes coming up in this new season. 

The Know Your Bible Podcast with Jeff Olson is here to help you know the Bible better so you can know and love God more. I’m a Bible teacher and pastor with over thirty years of experience helping real people like you understand Scripture. I’m irreverent and funny but I’m not messing around when it comes to the Bible. In this podcast I’ll teach you the Bible, theology and what it all has to do with real life.

It’s Advent season so I’m doing a four week Advent series of podcast episodes for you this December!

In the first episode we looked at the Prophecy Candle. It reminds us that faithful believers throughout the centuries waited with trust and expectation for the Lord to fulfill his promise to send a king who would save his people from their sins.

In this episode we check out the Bethlehem Candle. It reminds us that Christ the King came into the world humbly as a servant to save his people from their sins. It also reminds us that we, who wait for the King, should bless our world through humble service like he did.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

1:51 - How You’d Expect a King to Show Up
3:53 - Jesus Showed up as King Humbly in Bethlehem
5:44 - Jesus Stayed Humble as the King
7:05 - Jesus was Despised not Celebrated
8:57 - Jesus Humbly Served the World as King
10:40 - So What? What Does This Have to Do with You and Me?
22:21 - Next Episode: The Shepherd’s Candle
23:24 - Drink of Choice
25:29 - Christmas Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

Get my book The King Will Come: A Section by Section Guide to Understanding the Old Testament

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

Hey I have a special four week Advent series of podcast episodes for you this December! Advent is the season of four Sundays leading up to Christmas. There are different traditions and ways of celebrating but one thing is common: Advent is a season for preparing our hearts to celebrate Christ at Christmas.

In this first episode I’ll explain the Prophecy Candle. It’s the candle lit during the first week of Advent traditionally as part of an Advent wreath. This candle reminds us that faithful believers throughout the centuries waited with trust and expectation for the Lord to fulfill his promise to send a king who would save his people from their sins.

In the story of the Bible Jesus is that king! We celebrate the fulfillment of the promise at Christmas and look forward to his return when he will rule all the nations and welcome us into his eternal kingdom. 

Episode Highlights

1:09 - I Don’t Do Well Waiting for Christmas
2:06 - Finding Your Presents before Christmas Isn’t as Awesome as You Think
4:23 - Advent is a Season to Prepare Your Heart
5:18 - The Prophecy Candle
5:42 - Waiting for God to Fulfill His Promise
8:40 - God Sent Prophets to Remind His People of His Promise
12:01 - Almost Nobody Cared about God’s Promise
13:26 - A Righteous Few Waited with Hope
18:37 - So What? What Does This Have to Do with You and Me?
25:45 - Another Resource to Help You Prepare for Christmas
27:52 - Drink of Choice
29:27 - Christmas Metal Moment

Links mentioned in this episode:

Download the Isaiah for Christmas Reading Guide

Get my book The King Will Come: A Section by Section Guide to Understanding the Old Testament

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

I’ve been teaching a course called The Story of the Old Testament for years because most believers are relatively clueless about the Old Testament. They know the Bible stories, they read the Psalms and aren’t really sure what to do with the prophecies.

What they usually don’t know is how the stories, psalms and prophecies fit together into one larger story and how that story connects with Jesus and the New Testament.

Whether you’re a new reader of the Old Testament or you’ve been at it a while, it’s not hard to admit that we could all know the Old Testament better.

In this episode of the Core Life Training podcast, I’m gonna give you four reasons you SHOULD know the Old Testament better!

I hope it stokes you up to read the Old Testament, and maybe even read a book (that comes out at Halloween) that explains how the Old Testament tells the story of Jesus and the Gospel.

p.s. If you haven’t already, you can download a free sample section where I explain how the author of Genesis has built the story of chapters 1-9 and what they’re all about. Get it at:

www.corelifetraining.org/thekingwillcome

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

00:27 - Apologies For My Voice

2:09 - Everyone Should Know the Old Testament Better

5:08 - Reason 1: It's in the Bible

8:53 - Reason 2: It's Jesus' and the Apostles' Bible

12:14 - Reason 3: It's the Story of Jesus and the Gospel

17:36 - Reason 4: You Can't Know the New Testament Correctly If You Don't.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Download a free sample of The King Will Come

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

So I made my HUGE announcement Monday, October 5th:

MY FIRST BOOK TITLED THE KING WILL COME, WILL BE AVAILABLE ON HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR!

The content of the book comes from The Story of the Old Testament course I've taught. Many of you have taken that course, loved it and your feedback pushed me to finally nail it down in book format (Thanks for encouraging me!). I'm super stoked to finally have this project on the doorstep and ready to ship!

In this episode of the Core Life Training podcast I read the introduction of the book to you. I want you to have an idea of what the book is about and hopefully stoke your interest in checking it out when it’s available.

Major disclaimer: I am NOT a professional audiobook reader. If you listen to this podcast you know. But I’m gonna go for it anyway and trust Garageband to help edit out the dumb stuff I say and mistakes I make.

If you want a little more you can download a free sample section where I explain how the author of Genesis has built the story of chapters 1-9 and what they’re all about. Get it at https://www.corelifetraining.org/thekingwillcome

So if you’re ready to roll, grab your Bible, a notebook and your drink of choice. And let’s get down to business.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

2:15 - Author Introduction

2:24 - Acknowledgements

3:05 - An Illustrated Guide

3:40 - True Confession

5:18 - A Life Changing Class

6:22 - Jesus Taught Ray’s Class before Ray Did

7:35 - Let Me Be Your Guide

8:54 - The Hebrew Bible and Why it Matters

10:32 - The Example of Ruth

12:28 - Get a Free Sample of the Book

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Download a free sample of The King Will Come

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

Over the summer I’ve been cranking on a brand new Core LIfe Training course called Next Level Bible Reading. The goal of the course is to teach you the Bible reading skills that will help you get more value out of what you read in Scripture.

In this episode I’m going to share my motive for making the course and the four major roadblocks that keep people from getting the most out of their Bible reading.

I’m also gonna share a brand new guide to help you get thru those roadblocks. It’ll help you engage with Scripture in a way that I think will be a game changer for you.

Download my free guide: Next Level Bible Reading

So if you’re ready to roll, grab your Bible, a notebook and your drink of choice. And let’s get down to business.

Episode Highlights

1:24 - Why I’m Making a New Course

4:00 - Roadblock #1: I don’t know how to read the Bible.

6:58 - Roadblock #2: I don’t understand what the Bible means.

10:44 - Roadblock #3: I don’t see how the Bible applies to real life.

13:55 - Roadblock #4: I don’t know how to stay motivated to read my Bible.

17:36 - Drink of Choice: Ruined Again by Stone Brewing

18:32 - Metal Moment: All is Lost by Yatra

Links mentioned in this episode

Listen to Episode 3: What’s up with the Guy Going Commando?

Get some Ruined Again IIIPA at Stone Brewing

Check out Yatra and get their stuff on bandcamp.

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

Recently I’ve been doing a Bible read through with some people from my church. My goal, as always, is to help people know the Bible better so they can know and love God more.

One question comes from the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. It’s clear in Scripture that sacrificing children is definitely a no-no. So how can God command Abraham to do what he hates?

Episode Highlights

2:00 - Sacrificing Children is Bad in the Bible

5:52 - Why Isaac is So Important in the Story

12:44 - God’s Command to Sacrifice Isaac

23:29 - The Focus of the Narrative

32:49 - Drink of Choice: Narwhal Imperial Stout

33:51 - Metal Moment: Forming the Void

Next Episode

In the next episode of the Core Life Training Podcast I’ll share a new guide I’ve written called Next Level Bible reading. When I became a believer someone gave me a Bible and I found out right away that I should be reading it. So I did. But I was never really sure what I was supposed to be getting out of it. I was committed so I kept trying. But I always had a sense that I could be, that I should be getting more out of my Bible study. Maybe you want more out of what you read too but aren’t sure what to do.

There are four roadblocks that keep us from getting more out of what we read in Scripture. I’ll share them with you in the next episode and get you my guide called Next Level Bible reading. I want to help you level up your Bible study and get more out of what you read.

Links in this Episode

Check out Forming the Void and get their stuff on bandcamp.

Get some Narwhal Imperial Stout at Sierra Nevada

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

I felt like it was really important to address the unrest in our country related to the murder of George Floyd.

I’m a white guy. I admit as much of my bias as I can see. I’m open to seeing more. I’ve seen on social media that, since I’m white, I have no right to speak to this. I’ve also seen on social media that, since I’m white, I MUST speak on this. But since I don’t give a rip what social media tells me about my rights or responsibilities… I offer this with as much love, humility, honesty, openness, willingness and hope as I have. It’s not all I would or could say and likely not all I should say. It’s not what a perfect person would say. It’s what I do say.

No drink of choice. No metal moment. Just 35 minutes of my heart from Scripture about real life.