Episodes

  • Podcast 353 -- Gimme Three Steps Ephesians 2:8-10

    Podcast 353 -- Gimme Three Steps Ephesians 2:8-10
    Jan 28 2025
    Grace is the essential Gospel. You are saved in spite of being mired in sin and death. God has mercifully thrown you a lifeline purely out of love. So why is this such a stumbling block? Why do even committed Christians feel they must be something transactional about the grace of God? With some help from scripture and a bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd, we explore mystery of amazing divine grace. For more on this topic, check out our Faith vs. Works video podcast. This week's podcast is sponsored by Magic Mind. Visit www.magicmind.com/NCAJAN and receive 45% off your first order.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Podcast 352 -- Men on a Mission Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:6-8

    Podcast 352 -- Men on a Mission Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:6-8
    Jan 21 2025
    The fellows talk about their experience in mission work locally in Houston, and their trips to Mexico and to Kenya. We discuss the importance of being a part of church efforts that create connection and empathy with neighbors. We also talk about the way, in the post-colonial, post-Christian era, patronage has given way to partnership in response to the explosion of Christianity in the Global South. This week's podcast is sponsored by Magic Mind. Visit www.magicmind.com/NCAJAN and receive 45% off your first order.
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    58 mins
  • Podcast 351 -- Why Do We Go to Church? Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25

    Podcast 351 -- Why Do We Go to Church? Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25
    Jan 14 2025
    Statistics tell us that church net closings in the U.S. reach about 3,000 a year and every year 2.75 million churchgoers fall into inactivity. We look at the reasons for this decline and address the importance of regular church attendance to growth in the faith. The fellows talk about growing up in various denominations, and the changes they have seen in parishes and congregations—for good and ill—over the course of their faith journeys and how today’s churches can make themselves more meaningful for skeptical Christians. This week's podcast is sponsored by Magic Mind. Visit www.magicmind.com/NCAJAN and receive 45% off your first order.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Podcast 350—What if Brian Thompson Was a Member of Your Church? Proverbs 22:16, 28:27; Ezekiel 16:49

    Podcast 350—What if Brian Thompson Was a Member of Your Church? Proverbs 22:16, 28:27; Ezekiel 16:49
    Jan 7 2025
    Is there moral equivalency in shooting someone in the street and using AI algorithms to deny medical care to thousands of patients, perhaps leading to untimely death? To start the new year, the fellows take up the topical concept of structural violence, the idea that organizations and institutions, just because of the way they work, can be as much a source of human suffering, injustice and harm as an angry man with a gun. The Bible says murder is a sin, but what about cold indifference? Is sin so pervasive it inevitably infects all worldly mechanisms? What do Luigi Mangione and Brian Thompson tell us about the human need for salvation?
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Podcast 349 -- There's Something About Mary Luke 1:27-56

    Podcast 349 -- There's Something About Mary Luke 1:27-56
    Dec 17 2024
    For our fifth annual Christmas podcast, we look at the Virgin Mary. Beneath the trappings of tradition and legend, we find a Biblical narrative of an ordinary young woman responding to extraordinary circumstances. We look at the arc of Mary's faith, from her skeptical question "How can this be?" to her courageous affirmation of God's promise of salvation and her resolve to move forward as mother of Christ. The fellows are joined by Ruth Opiyo, a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently a Christian marriage and family counselor.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Podcast 348 -- True Gratitude vs. False Positivity Psalm 31:9-18, 21-22

    Podcast 348 -- True Gratitude vs. False Positivity Psalm 31:9-18, 21-22
    Dec 10 2024
    Scripture exhorts us to be grateful. But can well-meaning Christians apply the message of gratitude the wrong way or in the wrong situations? We discuss the idea of "dark gratitude," which instead of providing support, steers us away from confronting problems, difficulties and outright hardship we need to face. Hat tip to Elizabeth Bernstein, whose article "The Case for Being Ungrateful" in the Nov. 24 Wall Street Journal sparked this week's discussion.
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    49 mins
  • Podcast 347 -- Dignity and Diversity 1 John 4:19-21, Galatians 3:26-29

    Podcast 347 -- Dignity and Diversity 1 John 4:19-21, Galatians 3:26-29
    Dec 3 2024
    Woke culture has made diversity a dirty word. Christians can reclaim it by rooting human diversity in the context of God's creation, not racial, ethic or sexual identity. Every human is made in the image of God, which alone confers dignity and value to every human life. Diversity follows, as Paul notes, but we remain united--and equal--by the claim God makes on us. Join us as we discuss another paradox: organizations, including churches, that set "diversity" as an end goal invariably fail at it. So, how do Christians allow diversity to bloom organically? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    58 mins
  • Podcast 346 -- The Promise of an Abundant Life Jeremiah 29:2-14, John 10:7-10

    Podcast 346 -- The Promise of an Abundant Life Jeremiah 29:2-14, John 10:7-10
    Nov 19 2024
    What is the Christian idea of a flourishing, abundant life? Can the Bible's metaphorical green pastures measure up to a 10.000-acre Texas ranch? And can people flourish in exile, as Jeremiah urges? Download and listen before you buy that next graduation card! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    53 mins