Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Johnny V., Ben Cossette, Mike McHugh, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

We are kicking off a brand-new study on Genesis chapters 1 through 11! In this foundation-setting episode, we dive deep into the ultimate origin story to answer the most fundamental question of human existence: Who is God? We unpack the beauty, the chaos, and the radical truths found in the opening pages of Scripture, challenging both modern secular culture and traditional mindsets.

In this kickoff discussion, we explore the deep desire to create and what it reveals about God's character. We dive straight into Genesis chapter 1, unpacking the power of God speaking light into darkness, establishing divine order, and intimately forming the universe. We shift our perspective to realize that we live in creation—an intentional masterpiece, not a cosmic accident. Together, we take a sharp look at the secular origins narrative where nothing exploded and we call that science, exposing the logical leaps of modern materialist theories. We also unpack the cultural trap of romantic slavery, examining how modern ideas masquerade as freedom while binding our hearts away from God. Finally, the episode closes with a fascinating, AI-generated, word-for-word translation of Genesis 1 written entirely from an atheist perspective.

Subscribe, follow and share Thriving in the Word on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode of this Genesis Bible study.

If you are looking for a deeper theological understanding of the creation story, christian apologetics vs. secular science, or simply want to know how to study Genesis from a biblical worldview, this series is for you. Don't forget to leave a review, share this episode with a friend, and join the conversation as we thrive together in God's Word!

Grab your Bible, pull up a seat, and join our table as we slow down to study scripture book by book, verse by verse. Discover how God patiently calls, equips, and transforms even the most reluctant servants for His glory.

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Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Johnny V., Mik McHugh and James Gowell

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

While this book is filled with raw grief and sorrow, it also holds profound truths about God's sovereignty and our ultimate hope. In this episode, we unpack why suffering is never meaningless when it is anchored in the Creator.We shift our gaze away from our immediate circumstances and ask the most critical question: Do you know the Author of your story? Discover how shifting your focus to Him changes everything, even in your darkest seasons.Key Themes Discussed

• Is He in You? — Examining our internal foundation when our external world shakes.
• Suffering Has Value — Understanding how grief and trials shape our character and faith.
• Don't Be Afraid — Finding peace and courage in the midst of overwhelming hardship.
• Purpose in the Suffering — Realizing that God never wastes a season of pain.
• He Knows the Beginning From the End — Resting in the absolute sovereignty of an all-knowing God.
• Focus on the Author — Shifting our mindset from the magnitude of our problems to the magnitude of our Creator.

Search tags / keywords: Lamentations Bible study, Inheretence, book of Lamentations explained, Lamentations 1-5, Book of Lamentations, Old Testament Study, Expository Bible Study, Scripture Reflection, Christian Living, Spiritual Growth, Faith in Hard Times, Christian Encouragement, Overcoming Fear, Purpose in Suffering, Trusting God, Sovereignty of God, Hope in Pain, Knowing God, Thriving in the Word podcast

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Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Johnny V., and James Gowell

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

Jerusalem is in ruins. The streets are empty. The people are in chains. And the prophet sits in the ash and weeps.

Lamentations isn't a book for the put-together, it's a book for anyone who has ever felt abandoned, forgotten, or spiritually numb. Five chapters of raw grief that somehow land on the most stunning declaration in the Old Testament: *His mercies are new every morning.*

In this episode of Thriving in the Word, we walk straight into the wreckage of Lamentations 1–5 and ask the questions people are afraid to ask out loud, Where is God when everything falls apart? What do you do when the goal posts keep moving? How do you hold onto hope when hope looks like pie in the sky?

The answer isn't a platitude. It's a posture.

The Lord is your inheritance — even in the rubble.

Lamentations 3:24 | NLT

The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"

Search tags / keywords: Lamentations Bible study, Inheretence, book of Lamentations explained, Christian suffering podcast, God's discipline Scripture, value of life Bible, biblical forgiveness and grace, Bible podcast for believers, history of Lamentations, hope in suffering Bible, Thriving in the Word podcast

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠⁠

Give: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Johnny V., Mike McHugh, and James Gowell

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

In this deep-dive episode, we walk through all five chapters of Lamentations, one of the most raw and honest books in the entire Bible. This isn't a feel-good study. This is what real grief, real discipline, and real restoration actually look like — and why you need to hear it.We cover:

• Cannibalism in the Bible — Confronting the absolute darkest realities of societal and moral collapse in scripture.
• No value of life — How a community completely loses its identity and desensitizes itself to the destruction of the vulnerable.
• Incremental killing to cannibalism — Tracing the terrifying progression of a culture that grows completely calloused to the lives of the innocent.
• The loss of innocence — Why ancient text forces us to look closely at modern self-centeredness and the devaluation of humanity.
• The depth of God’s grace — How true repentance meets God's overwhelming capacity to heal and restore.
• Forgiveness in the ruins — Moving past bitterness and finding the strength to rebuild when everything has fallen apart.
• Turn back to the Lord — Why surrender is not defeat, it is the only door to true hope.

If you love Jesus and want to obey Jesus — this episode will show you what that actually costs, and why it's worth every bit of it.If you surrender, all is well. Lamentations isn't just ancient poetry. It's your story. And it ends with hope.Thriving in the Word is a Bible teaching podcast rooted in deep Scripture study, honest faith, and practical discipleship. New episodes weekly.

Search tags / keywords: Lamentations Bible study, cannibalism in the Bible, book of Lamentations explained, Christian suffering podcast, God's discipline Scripture, value of life Bible, biblical forgiveness and grace, Bible podcast for believers, history of Lamentations, hope in suffering Bible, Thriving in the Word podcast

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠⁠
Give: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠⁠
Need prayer? ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is a presentation of Thrive.Church.
© All Rights Reserved.

Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Ben Cossette, Johnny V., Mike McHugh, and James Gowell 

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

In this deep-dive episode, we walk through all five chapters of Lamentations, one of the most raw and honest books in the entire Bible. This isn't a feel-good study. This is what real grief, real discipline, and real restoration actually look like — and why you need to hear it.

We cover:

• What you actually get when you ignore God long enough
• Prophets for sale — what happens when the voices around you are lying
• God's discipline vs. God's anger — and why the difference changes everything
• Seasons of wilderness and what God is doing inside your suffering
• So many voices — how to know which one to follow
• The perfect will of God — even in devastation
• Suffering in misery — and why the unexamined life is not worth living
• We are God's Holy Temple — and what it means when we forget it
• The capacity to unforgive — how bitterness keeps you in ruins
• We forget God when... — the pattern that leads to every collapse
• Where am I now? — an honest inventory before God
• Turn back to the Lord — because surrender is not defeat, it's the door

If you love Jesus and want to obey Jesus — this episode will show you what that actually costs, and why it's worth every bit of it.

If you surrender, all is well. Lamentations isn't just ancient poetry. It's your story. And it ends with hope.

Thriving in the Word is a Bible teaching podcast rooted in deep Scripture study, honest faith, and practical discipleship. New episodes weekly.

Search tags / keywords: Lamentations Bible study, book of Lamentations explained, Christian suffering podcast, God's discipline Scripture, how to return to God, Bible podcast for believers, what is the perfect will of God, grief and faith, wilderness season Christianity, Jeremiah Lamentations, hope in suffering Bible, how to forgive Bible, Thriving in the Word podcast

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠ 

Give: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

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Featuring: David LaManna, Mike McHugh, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

What do you do when everything falls apart — and God feels silent?

In Week 2 of our deep dive into Lamentations, we continue walking through all five chapters of one of the most raw, overlooked books in Scripture. This isn't a comfortable Bible study. This is gut-level honesty about sin, suffering, isolation, and what happens when you've been living far from God and the bottom finally drops out.

We talk about the loneliness that sin produces, not as a punishment thrown at you from the outside, but as the natural harvest of the seeds you plant.

We ask the hard question: Are you now a slave? 

Because Lamentations doesn't let you off the hook. Normalizing sin has a cost. Reaping what you sow is not a metaphor, it's a reality. And you can't escape judgment by being "a good person."

But here's what makes this book extraordinary: even in the pit, there's a glimmer. The suffering wasn't wasted. God was watching the entire time and that matters more than you might think.

In this episode:

• Why loneliness is often the natural result of sin, not just bad circumstances
• The danger of normalizing sin and becoming a slave to it
• The depth of suffering in Lamentations and why Jeremiah didn't sanitize it
• What it means that God is always watching
• A glimmer of hope buried inside one of the darkest books in the Bible
• You reap what you plant. Don't be misled
• The judgment question: if you're not facing God, what are you facing?

This is Thriving in the Word — real discussion, deep Scripture, no fluff. New episodes every week. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave us a review.

📖 Lamentations 1–5 | Week 2 🎙️ Thriving in the Word Podcast

Subjects Covered: Lamentations Bible study, Lamentations podcast, what does the Bible say about suffering, why do I feel lonely as a Christian, Bible study podcast, Christian podcast 2026, Thriving in the Word, reaping and sowing Scripture, sin and consequences Bible, glimmer of hope in Lamentations, Bible teaching podcast, God watching over you, deep Bible study, Jeremiah Lamentations, judgment in the Bible

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Give: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Mike McHugh, Ben Cossette, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

Most people skip Lamentations. It's raw, it's brutal, and it doesn't come with a tidy bow. But what if that's exactly why you need it?

In this week's episode of Thriving in the Word, we kick off a brand-new series walking through all five chapters of Lamentations — and we're starting with a truth that will reframe how you face every hard season: your enemy doesn't have the intel he thinks he has.

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations in the wreckage of Jerusalem's destruction. No filter. No silver lining forced in too soon. Just a man holding the rubble and still reaching for God. And inside that grief, there's a theology of identity your adversary can't calculate — because your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

Satan can observe your circumstances. He cannot read your covenant.

This episode covers:

• Why Lamentations belongs in your spiritual toolkit
• The structure and purpose of this often-overlooked book
• What Jeremiah's grief reveals about God's faithfulness
• How your identity in Christ creates a warfare advantage your enemy never sees coming

Whether you're in a season of loss, confusion, or just hungry for deeper Bible teaching, this series is for you.

New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe, share, and bring someone into the Word with you.

Thriving in the Word is a Bible teaching podcast for believers who want more than surface-level faith — verse-by-verse, Spirit-led, and always practical.

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Give: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠

This is a presentation of Thrive.Church.

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Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Mike McHugh, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

In this final episode of Thriving in the Word and the Hall of Faith series, Judah opens by reading the closing verses of Hebrews 11 and the section following. In this section the writer shifts from naming names to describing the unnamed. No introduction. No backstory. Just a list of what they did, what they suffered, and what they never received in this lifetime.

The crew shares the stunning contrast at the heart of this passage; men and women who conquered kingdoms and raised the dead sitting alongside men and women who were sawed in two, driven into caves, and stripped of everything. Same chapter. Same faith. Same God. The world called them losers. God called them too good for it.

The crew unpacks what it means that these heroes died without receiving the promise and why that's not a tragedy, it's a theology. God wasn't slow. He was building something bigger than one lifetime could hold.

The team digs into the closing charge: if these people ran their race without ever seeing the finish line, what does that mean for us? What does faithfulness look like when the reward isn't coming in your lifetime?

After 8 months in Hebrews 11, this is the episode that ties it all together. The Hall of Faith isn't a museum. It's a mirror.

Whether you are finishing this journey with us or jumping in for the first time, this episode will challenge you to run your race with everything you have. The Thriving in the Word podcast explores many books of the Bible verse-by-verse to make your Scripture reading practical and transformative. Hit subscribe on your favorite platform to keep studying the Bible with us every week, and please leave a review to help other believers find the show!

More Info: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠⁠ 

Give: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

This is a presentation of Thrive.Church.

© All Rights Reserved.

Featuring: David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Johnny V., Mike McHugh, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

In this episode of Thriving in the Word, David kicks us off by reading the section of Hebrews where Barak and several others are mentioned without description. David then reads stories from the Book of Judges where we learn about Barak.

James then gives some historical background, how God spoke to the Prophet Deborah, promising victory and how Deborah selects Barak to carry out the battle. We learn about the opponent having iron chariots (modern day tanks) and how Barak was terrified to carry out this mission. God selected Barak into the Hall of Faith, not for never having fear, not for never doubting, not for questioning Him, not for wanting backup from Deborah...because Barak went anyway...trusting God that He is who He says He is...trusting God that the battle was one.

Mike then shares about God speaking to Deborah and Barak recognizing and trusting that we also have to trust others when we see Him speaking through them.

The crew stirs the crockpot of Faith by sharing other examples of powerful faith and how God's record of 7,000+ promises in Scripture and fact that God's record is 7,000 wins and 0 losses.

We even get into the tent peg...yes, that tent peg! We cover almost ALL that there is to discuss about Barak and more.

Whether you are looking for a deep Bible study podcast or diving into the Hebrews Hall of Faith with us today, this episode will strengthen your walk with God. The Thriving in the Word podcast explores many books of the Bible verse-by-verse to make your Scripture reading practical and transformative. Hit subscribe on your favorite platform to keep studying the Bible with us every week, and please leave a review to help other believers find the show!

More Info: ⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠⁠ 

Give: ⁠⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

This is a presentation of Thrive.Church.

© All Rights Reserved.

Featuring: Judah Thomas, David LaManna, Lenny Salgado, Johnny V., Ben Cossette, Mike McHugh, and James Gowell.

Edited by: Tim Nicholson

In this episode of Thriving in the Word, we continue our deep-dive Hall of Faith series by exploring one of the most relatable and unlikely heroes in all of Scripture: Gideon.We open in Hebrews 11:32, where the writer highlights a band of imperfect judges who "turned weakness to strength" and "became powerful in battle". Behind that single verse lies the dramatic story found in Judges 6 through 8. We peel back the layers of Gideon’s story—stepping past the Sunday School flannel graphs to see the reality of a terrified man threshing wheat in an underground winepress, hiding from the oppressive Midianites.

But this episode isn't just about fleece, tests, or reducing an army from 32,000 to 300 men. It’s about how God meets us in the middle of our doubts and calls out the warrior within us, long before we see it ourselves.

In this episode, we unpack:

• Gideon's Calling: What it means when God calls you a "mighty warrior" while you're still hiding in fear.
• The Process of Faith: How Gideon’s faith grew not from absolute certainty, but from a growing willingness to trust God's Word.
• Testing & Obedience: Why God whittled down Gideon's army and what that means for relying on God’s strength instead of our own.
• Application for Today: How to navigate our own seasons of spiritual exhaustion and cultural pressure by fixing our eyes on God's promises.

Grab your Bible, pull up a seat, and join our table as we slow down to study scripture book by book, verse by verse. Discover how God patiently calls, equips, and transforms even the most reluctant servants for His glory.

More Info: ⁠https://www.thrive.church⁠ 

Give: ⁠https://www.thrive.church/give/⁠ 

Need prayer? ⁠[email protected]⁠

This is a presentation of Thrive.Church.

© All Rights Reserved.