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Following Jesus by Learning and Living the Bible
Episodes
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Sometimes a verse becomes so familiar, we can actually miss its meaning. Or miss some of its meaning.
I think that's the case with 2 Corinthians 5:21:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We assume we know what this is talking about, and we think it's talking about how God declared us righteous through Jesus' death.
But it actually means more than that. So tune in, and let's explore this verse together.
Philippians article:
https://renew.org/summary-of-philippians/
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
Episode webpage:
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
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Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Friday Oct 21, 2022
When Paul writes Philippians, he's in custody in Rome. He hasn't been able to travel and preach for nearly 4 years. Yet Philippians is known as the epistle of joy. Why is that?
It has to do with what mattered most to Paul... with where he found his life and joy.
He models this for us in both the letter to the Philippians and in Acts 16 when he started the church in Philippi.
Overview of Philippians article:
https://renew.org/summary-of-philippians/
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
Episode webpage:
https://podcast.johnwhittaker.net/e/how-can-paul-have-joy-while-in-roman-custody-philippians/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, Paul models for us the power of an eternal perspective.
Life isn't easy. There's hardships, disappointments, sickness, pain, and death.
As Christ's apostle, Paul experienced all the normal hardships of life plus suffering that came for the sake of Jesus. But Paul says he didn't lose heart; instead he was of good courage.
How so?
He had an eternal perspective!
And we must have one too. We must fan into flame our hope so we don't lose heart.
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
Episode webpage:
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
This episode of the Bible in Life reflects on 2 Corinthians 3:18:
"But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."
-2 Corinthians 3:18
What's the significance of "unveiled faces"? What does it have to do with transformation? And how does all of this fit into the context of 2 Corinthians 3?
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Praying.
It's important. I admire people who are good at it. But I struggle with it... and I've met many people who also struggle with it.
In this episode, I reflect on my own struggles with prayer and with lies at the heart praying faithfully.
Matthew 7:7-11
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Friday Sep 16, 2022
Friday Sep 16, 2022
I received this question from a listener: How can Christians justify David's behavior (war crimes, adultery, murder, etc)? This is an important question that has to do with the nature of the Bible and how to read it.
So, how do we justify bad behavior like this ... or do we?
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
The Bible is more than a book of inspiration or religious rules. It also describes history ... God's work in history - in the real world of space and time. This is how God chose to reveal himself. Archaeology helps us understand the world of the Bible and see how reliable the Bible's history is.
For a good introduction to the topic of Archaeology and the Bible see Titus Kennedy's book Unearthing the Bible. Click the link below:
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
*The book link is an affiliate link which gives me a small commission at not additional cost to you.
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
God is the absolute boss, but what kind of boss is he?
It is pretty common today to be suspicious of and to distrust authority. There's been so many bad authority figures and so much misuse of authority, that it's easy to react negatively to authority in general.
From politics to teachers to bosses and sadly even to parents, there have been plenty of self-serving, power hungry, and mean-spirited authority figures. And thus, we could react to God's authority from that place of suspicion and distrust.
But how authority gets used really depends on the the person wielding it. So what kind of person is God and what does that mean for how he uses his authority?
This episode explores Exodus 34:6-7 and Philippians 2:5-8 to answer this question.
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Aug 18, 2022
Thursday Aug 18, 2022
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
We don’t actually own ourselves, our life, or even our body. This is true for all humans; it’s doubly true for us as followers of Jesus because we have been bought by God and belong to him. We are not our own. This is just a fundamental fact of becoming a Christian.
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Matthew 16:24-27
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds.
Mark 8:34-38
34 And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
“Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked--the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:
Support this ministry:
Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.
http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/
The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:
https://www.listenerscommentary.com
Connect with John:
Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram
Email - john@johnwhittaker.net
If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.