Word Processing

One of the topics that comes up in scripture more than most is that of trusting God. We trust God with our salvation, our choices, our livelihoods; we trust that he is good, he is God, and that what he says is true; or at least we ought to. The reality is that while there are many positive examples in scripture of people trusting God, there are just as many, if not more examples of people failing to do so. What does it mean to truly trust God, in the big and the small, the lifelong and the day-to-day? What gets in the way of that trust? How do we avoid those pitfalls and grow in our trust? This week on the podcast, Josiah and Andrew address these questions and more as they seek to help us all in our understanding of trust.

In this stop on our journey through the biblical books we arrive at the first of what are commonly referred to as the pastoral epistles: 1 Timothy. It’s short but by means does its brevity dampen its importance nor its significance.

It is a jam-packed little letter and, to help us unpack at least parts of it, we welcome to the podcast Dr. Michael Easley. Dr. Easley’s ministry has spanned over four decades. He is the former president of the Moody Bible Institute and is the current president and host of Michael Easley inContext, a ministry designed to help listeners and readers "understand God's word and apply it to their lives" (in fact, it was his Big Book series which inspired Cover-to-Cover!). Which is perfect, because that’s exactly what we’re going to invite him to help us do today with 1 Timothy.

Through a demonstration of ugly corruption and beautiful provision, the first portion of Matthew 26 invites the reader to ask themselves a question: What is the death of Jesus worth? We see that to Judas, it's not much, yet for the unnamed woman it is a lot. As we read through this introduction to the passion narrative, we can't help but consider our own depravity and yet marvel at the perfection of God's plan through the work of Jesus. This week on the podcast Josiah and Andrew discuss this extended beginning to the homestretch of Matthew's gospel account, and how we as believers can remember to remember the worth of Christ and his ultimate sacrifice.

Today we welcome back to the podcast Dr. Christopher Cone. Dr. Cone has served as the president of a number of theological institutions over the years. He’s a scholar and theologian, professor and preacher, and currently serves as the president and CEO of AgathonEDU Educational Group. Dr. Cone has also written, contributed to, or edited over a dozen books, many of which explore and model proper Bible interpretive methods.

In Matthew 24 and 25 in the so-called Olivet Discourse, Jesus spends some time teaching (and warning!) about things to come. Yet like students reading a hundred-year-old wartime letter, we recognize that this teaching was not addressed to us, but still has much for us to take in, acknowledge, and learn from. This week, Josiah and Andrew discuss how we can get ready and stay ready for the Lord's return in the midst of these warnings and do the work of ministry in the spheres of influence that God has providentially put us in.

As a local church grows in size, 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, Andrew chats with Tim Wessel about his walk with Christ, the greatest struggles in his Christian life, lessons he's learned along the way, and much more.

One topic that seemingly comes up more than most on our podcast is that of assurance of salvation, most likely because it can be a common concern and struggle for even the most mature of believers. How can we know for sure that we are saved? Well today we called in an expert. Phil Congdon is a pastor and host of the Assured By Grace podcast, and on this week's episode, he and Josiah discuss what it truly means to have confidence in the finished work of Christ.

We are constantly bombarded with truth claims. With information coming at us from friends and family, social media, the news, our education system, our church—often information that contrasts or opposes other things we've heard—it can be hard to know what's real and what isn't. This becomes especially prevalent when something we believe is unpopular, or something we hear seems easier to swallow. So how do we do it? How do we, as Christians, evaluate the plethora of truth claims we come across daily? How do we reason consistently, and what part does the Bible play in that process? In what may seem like the definition of "tip of the iceberg", on this week's podcast, Josiah and Andrew begin tackling the topic of worldview and authority, and what it means to live as a Bible-believing Christian.

In an attempt to articulate the "big idea" of Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica, one author has written the following:

The same author, points out why this writing is so important for believers two thousand years later.

It's an encouraging, insightful, and important piece of the biblical account and, to help us better understand and appreciate it, we welcome back to the podcast John Oglesby. John is a husband, father, theologian, and writer. He currently serves as executive vice president and associate professor of transformative learning and leadership at Colorado Biblical University, a subsidiary of AgathonEDU Educational Group.

Matthew 23 brings something of a conclusion to the current section of Matthew, as Jesus the King, rejected by the leaders of Israel, rejects them in kind. Specifically, he takes time to call out their poisonous hypocrisy, while also teaching his followers that the antidote to such a toxin is humility. In the midst of such a harsh call-out, it's understandable that the reader might be asking themselves some questions: How do I look for and fight against hypocrisy? How do I pursue humility? Josiah and Andrew tackle these questions and more on this week's podcast!