Welcome back to the Narthex! As we kick off another ministry year - and another season to our weekly podcast - Josh, Chris, and Kevin take a look at what it means to contend for the gospel as Paul lays out for us in Philippians 1:27-29.

Please join us as we discuss things like Monsters Inc., your Internet Algorithms, and Unity in the Church. And as always, we encourage you to keep these conversations going with the people God has placed in your life!

The end is not the end. For the Christian, the doctrine of the last things is not a story of fear, but of hope. The Spirit who regenerates us will also raise us, renew creation, and bring all things to consummation. In this final episode of The Deep Magic, we look at the Christian hope that death is not the last word — Christ is.

We begin with the intermediate state, where Scripture assures us that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:1–8; Phil. 1:23). We then consider the return of Christ, not as symbol or metaphor, but as the visible and glorious consummation of God’s redemptive plan — the great hope of the church. From there, we turn to the resurrection and judgment, exploring some contemporary challenges to the doctrine. Finally, we explore the promise of a new heaven and new earth, a creation renewed and glorified, where “the status gloriae is more excellent than the status integratis.” In Christ, what is coming is even better than what was.

Eschatology is not speculation; it is discipleship. To believe in Christ’s return and the renewal of all things is to live with hope, courage, and perseverance today.

Use this episode as a platform for discussion in your care groups, small groups, friend groups, and families. Use the questions below to go even deeper into the deep things of God.

Discussion Questions:

What hope does the Christian have in death?

How should the return of Christ shape our lives now?

What does it mean that creation will be renewed, not discarded?

How is glorification richer than a return to Eden?

How does eschatology impact your discipleship?

In this episode, we explore the doctrine of the Church. Rooted in the conviction that the Holy Spirit forms a new community and nourishes it through Word and sacrament, we unpack what it means to belong to Christ’s Body.

We begin by discussing the nature of the Church, drawing from 1 Peter 2 and Ephesians 2 to show how God gathers a holy people, and we explore the visible/invisible, militant/triumphant, organism/institutional dimensions of the Church, emphasizing unity as Jesus prayed in John 17.

Next, we consider the Word as a means of grace. The proclamation of the gospel isn’t just informative—it’s formative. Quoting Calvin, the Church is both the means by which God invites us into Christ’s fellowship and a part of the good news itself.

We then explore the sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Comparing Reformed, Catholic, and Baptist views, we contrast sacraments as means of grace with ordinances as symbolic acts of obedience.

Finally, we address church discipline as a mark of the true church, highlighting Matthew 18 and Acts 5 to show how Christ calls the Church to live in holiness and accountability.

Discussion Questions:

What makes the church a spiritual reality?

What does it mean that something is a “means of grace”?

What role do sacraments play in Christian life?

Why is church discipline a grace?

How should Word and sacrament shape our community?

No one knows the heart of God like the Spirit of God. In 1 Corinthians 2:10, Paul writes that it is the Holy Spirit who searches even the deep things of God, and reveals them to those who believe. In this episode of The Deep Things of God, we turn to the mystery of the Spirit — not as an abstract force, but as the divine person who applies Christ’s redemptive work with order, power, and precision.

We trace the Spirit’s work through what theologians have called the Ordo Salutis, the ordered way in which the Spirit brings dead sinners to new life: calling, regeneration, faith, conversion, justification, sanctification, and perseverance. But we don’t stop there. We also consider the gifts of the Spirit — both extraordinary and ordinary — and the rich, sometimes controversial, legacy of how the Spirit builds up the body of Christ through supernatural and practical means.

In a time when confusion and individualism cloud the doctrine of salvation, this episode calls the church back to clarity: salvation is not random, nor is the Spirit chaotic — it is the Spirit’s sovereign, wise work that brings life and keeps us to the end.

Use this episode as a springboard for deeper discussion and theological reflection in your small group, care group, or family study. Each episode includes a set of discussion questions to help you dig deeper into the deep things of God.

Discussion Questions:

How does the Holy Spirit relate to Christ’s work?

What does it mean to be called and regenerated?

Why must faith be seen as both gift and response?

What does “salvation” mean to you?

Why is assurance essential to Christian life?

There is no deeper mystery at the heart of the Christian faith than this: the eternal Son of God became flesh, humbled himself to death on a cross, and was raised in glory. This is not a metaphor or myth — it is history. In this episode of The Deep Things of God, we explore the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation, humiliation, death, resurrection, and exaltation – the center point of redemption and the turning point of the cosmos.

Why did the Son of God suffer? How could the immortal die? And what does it mean that he was raised and enthroned? We confront modern attempts to explain away the incarnation — whether through kenotic theories that empty Christ of divinity, or moralizing views that reduce him to an ethical hero. Against these, we confess the full mystery: Christ is one person in two natures, fully God and fully man, the suffering servant and risen Lord.

This is not abstract theology. The doctrine of Christ stands at the center of hope and salvation. To know Christ rightly is to worship rightly, live wisely, and endure faithfully. In a world confused about who Jesus is — and why he matters — a clear grasp of his person and work is non-negotiable.

Use this episode as a springboard for deeper discussion and theological reflection in your small group, care group, or family study. Each episode includes a set of discussion questions to help you dig deeper into the deep things of God.

Discussion Questions:

Why is Christ’s obedience essential to our salvation?

What is the significance of Christ’s humiliation?

Describe the unity of Christ’s person and work?

Why does the resurrection matter in redemption?

What does it mean to confess Christ as Lord?

Ep 3 in The Deep Things of God

“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” - Psalm 8:4

In this episode of The Deep Things of God, we turn to the doctrine of humanity. Who are we? Scripture tells us we are created in the image of God — made with dignity, purpose, and a calling to reflect his glory. We are not just advanced animals or random accidents. We are image bearers.

But sin has entered the story. Though created in righteousness, humanity has fallen. Sin now touches every part of our being — our thoughts, desires, and actions. This is what theologians call total depravity — not that we are as bad as we could be, but that every part of us is affected by the fall.

To understand what it means to be human, we must hold both truths together: the beauty of being made in God’s image, and the reality of our brokenness. And in doing so, we begin to see our deep need — and the hope that only God can provide.

“To be human is to be an image bearer of God…” — Herman Bavinck

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Use this episode as a platform for further study and conversation in your care groups, small groups, or family devotions. Each episode includes thoughtfully crafted discussion questions to help you go deeper together.

1. What does it mean to be made in God’s image?

2. How does a right view of sin preserve human dignity?

3. In what ways does sin affect every part of our being?

4. Why is it important that sin is both inherited and personal?

5. How does original sin prepare the way for grace?

Ep 2 in The Deep Things of God

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. — Psalm 145:3

In this episode of The Deep Things of God, we turn our attention to the source of all things — the Triune God. All of reality flows from him and returns to him. He is not just the starting point of theology — He is the subject, the center, and the end.

We begin with what it means to know God — not exhaustively, but truly, because God has revealed himself. We explore his attributes, the incommunicable and the communicable — what sets him apart and what he shares with us as image-bearers. Then we move to the heart of Christian confession: the Trinity, one God in three persons, the eternal fellowship from which love, life, and meaning originate.

Finally, we consider God’s work in creation and providence — the world he made, sustains, and governs with wisdom and power.

In a world anxious for control, this doctrine invites us to awe, trust, and worship. Theology begins and ends with God — infinite, eternal, and gloriously near.

“God is not what you imagine or what you think you understand. If you understand, you have failed.” — Augustine

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Use this episode as a platform for further study and conversation in your care groups, small groups, or family devotions. Each episode includes thoughtfully crafted discussion questions to help you go deeper together.

1. Why does the doctrine of the Trinity matter for understanding God?

2. What comfort is found in divine providence?

3. How should God's attributes shape our worship?

4. What are the consequences of denying God's self-revelation?

5. What does it mean that creation is an act of divine freedom?

Ep 1 in The Deep Things of God

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” — 1 Corinthians 2:10

“Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.” — Aslan, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

What lies behind the curtain of our existence? What voice speaks before all others? In this opening episode of The Deep Things of God, we return to the foundations — the deep things of God revealed not by intuition or opinion, but by divine speech. We begin with prolegomena, the starting point of all theology: God has spoken.

Everyone is a theologian. The only question is whether our theology is true and rooted in revelation or shallow and shaped by culture. In this episode we ask: Why do we do theology? The answer is both doxological and urgent — because God is knowable, and because the church cannot live faithfully without knowing him deeply.

The days of watering down Scripture in the name of relevance or attraction are behind us. What the church needs now is depth. In a time of spiritual drift and cultural confusion, theological literacy is not an academic luxury — it is essential discipleship. Theology, when rightly pursued, is an act of worship and a pathway to renewal.

Join us as we pull back the curtain on divine revelation, explore why theology matters for everyday life, and set the course for a journey through the great truths of the Christian faith.

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Use this episode as a platform for further study and conversation in your care groups, small groups, or family devotions. Each episode includes thoughtfully crafted discussion questions to help you go deeper together.

1) Why must theology be both scientific and doxological?

2) What does it mean to say “God has spoken”?

3) Why is the distinction between general and special revelation significant?

4) In what ways do you see Scripture shaping your understanding of God?

5) What is the danger of separating faith and theology?

No Chris, No Josh ... No Problem!! Join Kevin today as he monologues a little, and is then joined by two special guests as they look and react to Pastor Chris' sermon this past Sunday on 2 Thes. 3:6-18. As always, keep the conversations about faith and Christ going with the loved ones in your life.

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 - Introduction

2:25 - Kevin's Sermon Overview/Monologue

11:19 - Special Guest Appearances and Conversation about the Sermon

39:04 - Moments in Mission

46:35 - Thank-yous and Final Thoughts

Welcome back to the Narthex! This week Chris, Kevin, and Josh - Yes! Joshua is back, let the regular listener rejoice... join the discussion coming out of the message from Sunday, June 15 on 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5.

Join in and keep the conversation going with the people around you.