Matt and Jon couldn't meet for a normal episode this week, so here's a pitch for our pastoral training program, The Cranmer Fellowship.

If you or someone you know might be interested in learning more about the Fellowship, please contact us at cranmerfellowship@gmail.com.

Here is Matt's sermon from Candlemas (2/2/2025)

In this episode Matt and Jonathan talk about the relationship between justification by faith and progressive sanctification. We also discuss all those times in the Bible that so-and-so is considered blameless before God because they keep the commandments. Is it possible to be righteous in God's sight by your works? How can sinners, even really obedient ones, be called blameless in God's sight?

In this episode Matt and Jonathan talk about what it means for a pastor to be compassionate. This is a bit touchy, because compassion, like empathy, is very loaded term. There is, like empathy, a wrong kind of "compassion." It's important for pastors especially to know the difference between biblical compassion and the counterfeit compassion the world is currently demanding the church live by. It's also important that pastors not let people's feelings inform their every decision in the church. That being said, a pastor isn't to be domineering over the flock. There's a lot to talk about. We hope it's helpful for you.

We're a week behind, but here's Matt's sermon from Ash Wednesday. We hope it serves as an encouragement to you as you go through Lent.

In today's episode, Matt and Jonathan discuss teaching Bible studies. What's different about prepping a Bible study from prepping a sermon? How do we typically approach leading a Bible study at Good Shepherd and why? How do you deal with troublesome ideas (or people) that come up while you're teaching? And why are Bible studies a great time to exercise pastoral care for parishioners?

In this episode Matt and Jonathan talk about what true repentance looks like. Can you be repentant and yet still have a besetting sin? What does it mean to "sincerely repent?" If you're sinning a lot, then should you come to the Lord's Table or skip that week? And how can a pastor counsel those in his parish who just can't kick some sinful habit?

This week we're bringing you one of Matt's sermons from Advent 2024. The text is on Luke 3:7-20.