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The war for our heart is raging, and at the end of the day, each of us must ask "what is my final authority?" Or to put it another way: "who's the boss?" Where do I turn for information or comfort? What voices do I allow to have influence in my life? If it's not God and his sufficient and infallible word, we have a problem! Join with Josiah and Andrew as they discuss our recent sermon on Matthew 15 and the challenge of the war for our hearts.

Of all the books of the Bible, there may not be one that is more consistently beloved, more pastorally accessible, and more desperately read than the Psalms. In the many ways it is unique within the canon of Scripture, not the least of which is that it contains inspired words from God, through people, directed back toward God. As one theologian has noted, "The Psalms are one of the most dearly loved books in the Bible. For generations, they have been one of our greatest treasures as God's people. ... We go to the Psalms when we're laughing and when we're crying. Amazingly, they often say what we feel but couldn't find the words to describe" (Johnston, The Psalms, Volume 1, 13).

To help us tackle this massive, 150-chapter song book, we welcome to the podcast Dr. Ian Vaillancourt. Dr. Vaillancourt currently serves as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario. He’s an ordained pastor in the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada and served in pastoral roles for fourteen years before transitioning to the classroom full-time. His passion, wherever he is, is to exalt Christ from the Old Testament. And we’re going to watch him do just that in this episode.

After Jesus concludes his parables in Matthew 13, we see him travelling for his ministry of teaching and healing. Unfortunately, we also see the recipients of these messages and miracles drastically misunderstanding who Jesus is. They know lots about his power, but they miss out on his identity. Today on the podcast Josiah and Andrew discuss the importance of knowing who Jesus is, and how we can make sure to prioritize him in our daily lives.

This week we turn a significant corner in our Cover-to-Cover series. Having traversed the path of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and walked the halls of History (Joshua through Esther), we now step into the beautiful chamber of Wisdom Literature. And the first piece of art we see when we enter the room is the book of Job—a fascinating account that addresses the always-relevant, alway-difficult, but always-important topics of divine sovereignty, human suffering, and humble dependance.

Today, we welcome to the podcast, Dr. Golan Brosh. Dr. Brosh currently serves as professor at the One for Israel Bible College just outside Tel Aviv, Israel, where he teaches Bible, theology, and Biblical Hebrew. He is also one of the authors of the recently released book, “Rabbinic Judaism Debunked” and is a frequent guest on the Pod for Israel podcast. It’s with his expertise in biblical Hebrew and Bible interpretation that Dr. Brosh is going to help us better understand the book of Job.

As we come to the conclusion of Jesus' parabolic teaching in Matthew 13, we are forced to ask the question: what now? What do we do with all of these mysteries, this information that has been revealed? Thankfully, Jesus didn't leave his disciples hanging, and he doesn't leave us either. Instead, keeping to form, he tells them a parable about what to do with what they've received. And by extension, 2000 years later, we have a similar task: to share what we've learned about Christ and his coming kingdom. Join with Josiah and Andrew as they discuss this task and how evaluate our knowledge, grow in our knowledge, and ultimately share that knowledge.

Of the Old Testament story of Esther, the book to which we now arrive in our current study, Dr. Tom Constable notes several unique features: "No New Testament writer quoted or referred to it. No church father wrote a commentary on it, as far as we know. It never mentions prayer. It mentions nothing explicitly supernatural." At first glance, then, this section of Scripture seems rather unimpressive, unimportant, and even unnecessary. However, the same commentator goes on to clarify its great worth: "Like Ruth, the Book of Esther is an illustration. It records a slice of life out of the exilic period that illustrates a great revelation. Ruth illustrates redemption. Esther illustrates providence." And, as we'll be reminded in the conversation today, God's sovereign providence is a beautiful, timely, and comforting reality! 

To help us unpack Esther's fascinating ten chapters we welcome to the podcast a familiar voice, Lew Worrad. Lew has been part of the Oakridge Bible Chapel family for years and has been involved in pastoral ministry, missionary work, and theological education for longer than that. He wields a wealth of knowledge, a shepherds' heart, and a particular interest in Hebrew narrative. (He's also preached on Esther recently at Oakridge!)

With a church made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds, personalities, opinions, and walks of life, there are bound to be times when we find ourselves serving side-by-side with someone that we struggle to get along with. So what do we do? How do we minister well with someone who frustrates us, and what do we do when it becomes clear that it just isn't working? And what does the Bible have to say about all of this? Today, Josiah and Andrew scratch the surface of this deep perennial issue that any of us who have spent time in church know all-too-well.

"If I were an advertising executive writing promotional copy for the sale of the memoirs of Nehemiah ... I would have an easy and pleasant task before me. Few Bible books address modern concerns so strongly and directly or are so practical" (Boice, Nehemiah: An Expositional Commentary, 9). Indeed, this is true! The book of Nehemiah—the last in the chronological history books of the Old Testament—presents issues related to leadership, work, problem-solving, project management, answered prayers, moral realignment, confession of sin, national repentance, and restoration. It's universally interesting and universally practical.

Christopher Johnson joins us today to help unearth some of the above practicality and to better understand how Nehemiah fits into the canon of Scripture. Christopher has, and is, serving Christ in both the local church and the academic classroom. He currently lectures at Calvary University where he specializes in Old Testament and biblical Hebrew.

In the second parable of Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a land-owner, his wheat field, and a dastardly plot by an enemy to contaminate the crop with weeds. Thankfully, a few verses later, we get to listen in as he explains the "answer key" to his disciples, giving us insight into the meaning. So what is the mystery about the Kingdom revealed in this parable, and how do it affect us as we eagerly await Christ's return? Join Josiah and Andrew as they discuss this heavy topic, yet leave us with some encouraging thoughts.

After a seven-decade-long, divinely-orchestrated, and well-deserved disciplinary timeout in Babylonian exile, God's chosen people are allowed (and encouraged!) to return back to the Promised Land by the providential hand of God at work in the hearts of foreign rulers. This comeback group is a mix of Israelites who remember pre-exilic Jerusalem life and those who were born abroad, never having seen the great city in its prime. Together, however, they are charged with the task of rebuilding both the physical and the spiritual infrastructure of Jewish life. Ezra is the first of a two-part book recording that effort, the opposition they faced, the corrections they needed, and the grace of God at work to help them.

To help us unpack the book of Ezra properly we welcome to the podcast, Dr. Donna Petter. Dr. Petter currently serves as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Hebrew Language Program at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She has published a number of articles and books, including a commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah which she co-wrote with her husband, Tom.