Word Processing

There are 15 chapters near the end of the book of Psalms that are noted as "Songs of Ascents" that God's people sang while making the trek up to Jerusalem to celebrate feasts and festivals. Over the past two Sundays at Oakridge we looked at two of these psalms, noting the call to unity and blessing. Today on the podcast, Andrew and Josiah discuss these two psalms and topics, and what it looks like for believers today to experience unity and bless the One who blesses.

"Now it came about after the death of Moses ... " (1:1). It's with these sad-but-hopeful words the Holy Spirit opens the sixth book of the Bible—Joshua. Much is changing for the nation of Israel at this point of their history. They've been created and called (Genesis), freed and led (Exodus), taught and guided (Leviticus), disciplined and counted (Numbers), re-disciplined and re-taught (Deuteronomy). But now they have a new leader, new wind in their sails, and they're about to step over the border of their new land, a home promised to them by God himself.

To help us better understand the biblical epic that is Joshua, we welcome to the podcast Dr. David Barker. Dr. Barker is a newly retired professor of Biblical Studies at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario. Dr. Barker served at Heritage since 1978 and has held a number of positions on that campus over the years including Academic Dean, Vice-President of Academics, and Interim President. His teaching specialty is in Old Testament and so we’re in very capable hands today. 

Earlier this year, Pastor Josiah had the opportunity to join Pastor Jay Hinds on The Open Bible Podcast for a discussion on Ephesians 4 and, more specifically, how the apostle Paul envisioned the church rightly operating. Together, Josiah and Jay talk about the implications of this passage for today, where our churches may be in danger of falling short of this divine directive, and what a healthy local body of believers is supposed to look like.

This is an important theological issue to think about with accuracy (as are they all!) as, related to our understanding of the church, is our understanding of our mission in the world today, our position in Christ as believers, our usefulness to his assignment, and many other issues.

With Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers in the rearview mirror, our trek through the Bible now arrives at the end of the Book of Moses, or, the Pentateuch. Though it's probably best known for the second giving of the ten commandments (5:6–21; 10:1–2)—a necessity after Moses smashed the first set in anger (Ex 32:19)—Deuteronomy has much more going on than a mere legal do-over. 

And to help us better process this thirty-four chapter text we welcome to the podcast, Dr. Paul Weaver. Dr. Weaver serves as the Academic Dean of the Word of Life Global Bible Institute. He’s is a professor of Bible and theology, a productive author, and is passionate about providing high-quality Bible study resources that are affordable and within the reach of anyone serious about studying God's word. 

As a local church grows in size (or is forced apart because of a virus!) it can become increasingly difficult to actually know everyone in the community and, thus, to be blessed by everyone in the community. This is unfortunate because there are no unnecessary members (1 Corinthians 12:7), none who are ungifted (Romans 12:6), and not one who isn't called to the "work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" unto spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11–13). Said another way, we need one another as Spirit-indwelled conduits of God's grace to propel us toward holiness and, when unable to be around one another and to know one another, this process is hindered.

With that in mind, we're going to try and "shrink the church" a bit today and, hopefully, provide an opportunity for one particular Oakridge family member to "build up the body of Christ" from afar. On this episode, Josiah chats with Andrew Longmire about his walk with Christ, the greatest struggles in his Christian life, lessons he's learned along the way, and much more.

Three down, sixty-three to go! As we continue our trek through the Bible we now come nearer the close of the Pentateuch and to the book of Numbers. The book is titled thus because it contains many, well, numbers—statistics, population counts, tribal and priestly figures, and other such data. But, as you're about to hear and maybe already know, there's so much more going on in this section of the Scriptures than counting!

Today we're joined by Dr. Stephen Bramer. Dr. Bramer is the chair of the Bible Exposition department at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas and adjunct professor at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Hungary, Briercrest Seminary in Saskatchewan, and Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary in Jordan. So, really, he's all over the world! He also serves as teaching pastor at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship. Dr. Bramer also has a bit more of a connection with us at Oakridge Bible Chapel in that he grew up here in Oakville attending a small assembly in the community.

For the past several weeks, Oakridge has been preaching through the first few chapters of the book of Revelation, and we figured it was about time we talked about it on the podcast! Join with Josiah and Andrew as they discuss what they've been learning from the letters to the churches in this crucial, yet oft-misunderstood book, before taking us a bit deeper into the letter to the church at Philadelphia. They'll explore what we can learn from this small, powerless church, what it means to be faithful and successful as an individual believer and a church, and how to persevere when things get tough. Spoiler alert: it's all about Christ!

With both Genesis and Exodus in the rearview, our Cover-to-Cover series now arrives at "the place where Bible reading plans often go to die"—the book of Leviticus. This is a section of Holy Writ characterized by laws and repetition, laws and offerings, laws and tabernacle-building, and, oh yeah, laws. What could this book possibly have for Christians living today? Why has God preserved it for us? Why should we bother reading it and what do we lose if we avoid it?

Dr. Ed Glasscock is going to help us today answer some of those questions. (Spoiler alert: Leviticus is worth the time!) Dr. Glasscock has spent decades pastoring churches, teaching theology, mentoring Christians, and writing books and articles—both fiction and non-fiction—including works on Leviticus. He currently serves the church through Xdoulos Ministries, striving to provides students of the Bible with assistance in exegetical and theological studies.

As a local church grows in size (or is forced apart because of a virus!) it can become increasingly difficult to actually know everyone in the community and, thus, to be blessed by everyone in the community. This is unfortunate because there are no unnecessary members (1 Corinthians 12:7), none who are ungifted (Romans 12:6), and not one who isn't called to the "work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" unto spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:11–13). Said another way, we need one another as Spirit-indwelled conduits of God's grace to propel us toward holiness and, when unable to be around one another and to know one another, this process is hindered.

With that in mind, we're going to try and "shrink the church" a bit today and, hopefully, provide an opportunity for one particular Oakridge family member to "build up the body of Christ" from afar. On this episode, Josiah chats with Shirley Buchanan about her walk with Christ, the greatest struggles in her Christian life, lessons she's learned along the way, and much more.

After kicking off in our Cover-to-Cover series in the book of Genesis, we now turn our attention to Exodus, a tale that follows the movement of God's people from Egypt to Sinai, from being possessions of Pharaoh to becoming possessions of the Most High God. 

On this episode we welcome Dr. Dorian Coover-Cox. Dr. Coover-Cox, an expert in biblical Hebrew, is both the acting Director of PhD Studies and Professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. She also has a special interest in the literary analysis of narratives and poetry as well as in the book of Exodus, which just works perfectly for us today!