Jeff and Tyler spend another episode discussing "Critical Race Theory." How does the Bible invite us to understand race and ethnicity? How can we pursue unity and maintain our diversity and God-given uniqueness? 

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The Bible has a lot to say about our race, culture, and ethnicity. Does the Bible have anything to say for or against the current focus on "Critical Race Theory"? Should we be engaging this topic as Christians. Jeff and Tyler are far from experts! But they begin to open up this topic and see what Scripture might have to say. 

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Can Christians quote Ted Lasso and other sources as "truth"? What does the Bible teach about how we can engage, utilize, and critique culture?

Why majority rule is a poor way to discern God's will. The abuse and misuse of Matthew 18. Join Jeff and Tyler as we continue our series on discerning God's will. 

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How did people ask God questions in the Bible? Can we still use things like casting lots today? And what's with the Urim and Thummim? 

Join Jeff and Tyler they continue to unpack discerning God's will this episode. 

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What does an ancient law code from Babylon have to teach us about how to discern God's will? How are we supposed to apply Jesus' words about divorce in real life? Jeff and Tyler tackle these topics and more in today's episode! 

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Part 3 of our Discerning God’s Will series. This episode camps out in Acts 16 and looks at the various ways God speaks and partners with Paul throughout this fascinating story.

Send in your questions about this, or any topic, to [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

[00:12] Introduction. How does Acts 16 give us some inroads to making decisions?

[02:10] Verses 6-10: How and why did the Spirit forbid? What do these verse tell us about their discernment process? They were actively moving and trusting Jesus to stop them if they were in the wrong. They did not sit in a room and pray until making a move.

[15:19] Vision of man… so they find a woman named Lydia!

[18:15] God works through Paul’s annoyance… so what is bugging you right now? Maybe that’s where God will move next! Paul is in touch enough with God’s heart and character that even in his weaker moments of annoyance he still acts in a way that is God-honoring.

[23:40] When God opens a door… I (apparently) do not have to walk through it! Why Paul breaks with the “prison-break” motif.

[31:30] Another riddle! They can leave with no further problem, but Paul decides to play his Roman Citizen card and cause more trouble!

Part 2 of our Discerning God’s Will series. This is a complex and important topic that runs through the whole biblical story and impacts all our decisions in life. Jeff and Tyler discuss some of the more problematic approaches people have used the Bible to discern God’s will…

Send in your questions about this, or any topic, to [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

[00:12] Introduction: There are a lot of ways we try to determine God’s will that are flawed, or at least problematic.

[2:22] God is a merciful Father who might still accept our flawed approach… but there is a wiser way forward!

[5:00] "Bible roulette” approach vs. Psalm 1. Bible meditation not random verse seeking. Discernment begins as a lifestyle.

[8:45] Are we studying the real thing enough that we can identify God’s voice because we know what he sounds like. Like counterfeit experts studying the original rather than studying every possible false thing. (GREAT ANALOGY!)

[11:15] “putting out a fleece” - Gideon in Judges 6. The fleece was not a good way to discern God’s will! it was a profound lack of faith that God still in his mercy allowed.

[20:21] “when God opens a door…” Do we always have to walk through the doors God “opens”? It might be a moment where God is simply saying, “so what do we want to do next?”… Can we make a decision and place ourselves “outside” of God’s will?

2 Corinthians 2:12

Today is the beginning of a long-running series on Discerning God’s Will. This is a complex and important topic that runs through the whole biblical story and impacts all our decisions in life. Jeff and Tyler kick us off with some broad overviews of what sorts of ideas we find in the Bible around how God reveals his will and how people discern choices in life.

Send in your questions about this, or any topic, to [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

[00:12] Introduction: What does the Bible say about how God speaks and how we can figure out answers to questions in our lives today? What are some ways that are problematic?

[4:00] We often have levels of decision making where we feel we should bring God into or not. Is the point to “take myself out of the equation” to simply “hear from God”? How do we bring God into our decisions, and still take responsibility for our choices?

[10:00] Digging deeper into the idea that I need to remove myself from the equation. Does it mean I’m hearing more authentically if my own will and desires are removed? Spontaneity is not necessarily more unique and genuine. Prayer is a good example: do we think pre-written prayers are less “authentic”?

[16:00] God wants actual, human partners who exercise responsibility and wisdom in partnership with him. We are not looking for a magic 8-ball approach. The Bible is one big book about “wisdom.”

“We long for absolute clarity because we lack the faith to live in ambiguity” - Jeff

[23:40] Overview-What are the main things the Bible talks about around discerning God’s will? Three big take-aways:

[29:00] Wrap-up and summary. Psalm 1 is a great place to start!

Today’s is a Question & Response episode focusing on our Women in Church series from a few weeks back. Keep sending in your questions, we love them!

Keep any questions you have about this topic, or any other topic coming! We’ll do our best to answer them in future episodes. Email [email protected]

SHOW NOTES:

[00:12] Introduction: We’re diving into questions that have come up since we started talking about women in ministry and in marriage!

[02:45] Question #1: Doesn’t the text of 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6, when it states that elders/overseers must be a “one woman man,” imply that they must be male? This clause is more about the “oneness” rather than the “maleness” of the leader. It would be clunky and difficult to say it any other way. There is no gender-neutral term in either Greek or Hebrew for “person” or “spouse.”

[14:55] Question #2 In our marriage episode Jeff stated that “the need to create an authoritarian structure is actually about a desire to place blame.” What does that mean, and can we flesh that out? Part of the desire to allow someone else to be in authority over me is comfortable because I am allowed to blame them and not take responsibility. What’s the role of taking blame and responsibility as the leader? And what could it mean for both partners to take equal responsibility?

Next Jeff tried to get Tyler to answer one of two remaining questions… Tyler couldn’t help himself and answered both anyway!

[27:10] Question #3 What’s your take on 1 Peter 3 and the way it refers to marriage and submission? The main take-away is that Peter is more focused on wives being a witness to their non-believing husbands which might explain the more “intense” tone.

[29:50] Question #4 “headship” - Does head/ headship mean leadership authority or source or what? Tyler is more convinced than ever that the word means “source” far more than “authority.” In Greek, the work Kephale (head) is most often used for the metaphor of source rather than leader. Tyler gets nerdy and takes us through the Hebrew Bible, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and the usage of this word in Greek. We look at other uses in the New Testament and show that “source” also works there—1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 2:10.

There are a lot of passages that talk about us “ruling,” and sharing in Jesus’ authority, being God’s “kingdom of priests.” But the passages about men and women should not have an authority structure applied there. We are all, men and women, ransomed by the blood of the lamb to be his kingdom of priests who rule on the earth (Revelation 5)