There are times in the gospels when Jesus gives commands that can confuse us – because they seem downright impossible. The Ten Commandments are hard enough – and we know that we’ll be imperfect in keeping the Law of the Old Testament. That’s why God provided a way out for us in Jesus. So what did Jesus mean in His seemingly impossible commands? Perhaps the truth He wants us to grasp is that He loves us so much that He makes the impossible possible. And we love Him back by allowing Him to help us...
Jun 29, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 218
"The glory of God is a human fully alive." This is a paraphrase of something an early church Father wrote, and it sounds inspiring! We go through our lives often wishing there was more. Let's explore what it means to step into the abundant life God offers, by considering a very famous speech from Acts 17 that's full of some pretty surprising and often humorous moments. And through this, we will discover what it looks like to walk through life with God, and become more fully alive. WAYS TO LISTEN...
Jun 22, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 217
"The glory of God is a human fully alive." This is a paraphrase of something an early church Father wrote, and it sounds inspiring! We go through our lives often wishing there was more. Let's explore what it means to step into the abundant life God offers, by considering a very famous speech from Acts 17 that's full of some pretty surprising and often humorous moments. And through this, we will discover what it looks like to walk through life with God, and become more fully alive. WAYS TO LISTEN...
Jun 15, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 216
Author Leslie Leyland Fields joins the Discover the Word group from her home on Kodiak Island, Alaska and shares Insights from a Fisherwoman About Following Jesus. In a time when so many are "unfollowing" Jesus and leaving the church, Leslie's experience in her family's commercial fishing business provides a helpful perspective about what it meant for those first fishermen disciples to follow Jesus, and what it means for us today. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.dis...
Jun 08, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 215
This week, the Discover the Word group focuses on Psalm 16--A Psalm of Trust. So, what does it really mean to "trust God," and how do we know if we're doing so? Vivian dives into this Psalm of David with Daniel and Elisa and Rasool, to discover how struggle and opposition can drive us to a deeper sense of God's presence, and a trust that He is out for our good. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: ...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 214
How do you respond when you sin? Embarrassment? Shame? Horror? Or denial, hiding, running away? Some respond with confession and reception of grace. Scripture shows a variety of responses in Peter, Thomas, John Mark, the “sinful woman” and even Judas and we can learn from each. And what about when people don’t respond by receiving Jesus’ provision for sin? WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱 On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧 Spotify: ht...
May 25, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 213
How do you respond when you sin? Embarrassment? Shame? Horror? Or denial, hiding, running away? Some respond with confession and reception of grace. Scripture shows a variety of responses in Peter, Thomas, John Mark, the “sinful woman” and even Judas and we can learn from each. And what about when people don’t respond by receiving Jesus’ provision for sin? WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: https...
May 18, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 212
Though the fifth shortest book in the Bible, the letter of Jude is packed with mystery, theology, and important information. We want to take the next couple of weeks to explore it together, and discover the simplicity of the Gospel message that shines through the complex things that Jude points to in the story of the Bible. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mk8ra1 🎧Amazon Musi...
May 11, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 211
Though the fifth shortest book in the Bible, the letter of Jude is packed with mystery, theology, and important information. We want to take the next couple of weeks to explore it together, and discover the simplicity of the Gospel message that shines through the complex things that Jude points to in the story of the Bible. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mk8ra1 🎧Amazon Musi...
May 04, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 210
Co-founder of The Institute for Bible Reading (IFBR), Paul Caminiti, joins the group to talk about one of the barriers to robust Bible engagement--the fact that we tend to want to read the Bible in isolation. One of the strategies of the IFBR is to introduce, or actually re-introduce, us to reading the Bible in community. Discover how "Communal Bible Engagement" can be a transformational experience in this week of conversations. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.disco...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 209
How does the resurrection of Christ change us? Life after Easter can either go on as normal, or transform us into more of who we are in Christ. By examining three women who came and experienced the empty tomb, we’ll be challenged to see how we ourselves “look for the living among the dead” and how God wants to raise our eyes to see him here, in our everyday. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: htt...
Apr 20, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 208
Of the seven sayings of Christ on the cross, this triumphant declaration drew His act of self-sacrifice to a close. How would the people at the foot of the cross have understood these words? And, what was Jesus claiming in this statement of completion? This passion week, an understanding of Jesus’ last words from the cross can deeply enrich our appreciation of the love He expressed for us there. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: h...
Apr 13, 2025•59 min•Ep. 207
If God already knows everything and knows what you need, why pray? If God is in control of history and the world, why pray? If God is already going to accomplish his work, in his timing, and in his way, why pray? And what is prayer, anyway? Let's explore these questions together, and see how the Bible not only defines but also models prayer. And together, we can discover the invitation from God to not pray to him, but to pray with him as we go through the ups and downs of our everyday lives. WAY...
Apr 06, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 206
Sometimes the practical nature of the book doesn’t seem "spiritual" enough to be part of the Bible. Verses addressing laziness and hard work, or not co-signing on debt can feel too worldly or practical, but in fact the great insight Proverbs gives us is how innately spiritual every day is. If God created the world, and He did, then it would make sense that God has something to say about how to best live and thrive in it. Proverbs and the Wisdom Literature explores that with one important caveat....
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 205
Do you ever get tired of reading the Old Testament because you’re pretty sure you know the story? God gives laws and his people break them, over and over again. But what if the story was about more than that? What if the OT is about more than that. Well, in this study on Discover the Word, Dr. Michelle Knight joins the group to take a closer look at the "poster book" for disobedience--the book of Judges. Explore with the group how The background of Judges is not just about obedience, but about G...
Mar 23, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 204
Do you ever get tired of reading the Old Testament because you’re pretty sure you know the story? God gives laws and his people break them, over and over again. But what if the story was about more than that? What if the OT is about more than that. Well, in this study on Discover the Word, Dr. Michelle Knight joins the group to take a closer look at the "poster book" for disobedience--the book of Judges. Explore with the group how The background of Judges is not just about obedience, but about G...
Mar 16, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 203
Do you like fruit? Why or why not? Do you have a favorite fruit? Well, growing a life that matters, is the result of God’s fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives. But just what is "the fruit of the Spirit" and how does it grow in our lives? Galatians 5 contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh and then Paul explains how the fruit of the Spirit is God’s characteristics in our personality. Discover with the group what we look like when we look like Him. WAYS TO LISTEN & S...
Mar 09, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 202
Do you like fruit? Why or why not? Do you have a favorite fruit? Well, growing a life that matters, is the result of God’s fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives. But just what is "the fruit of the Spirit" and how does it grow in our lives? Galatians 5 contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh and then Paul explains how the fruit of the Spirit is God’s characteristics in our personality. Discover with the group what we look like when we look like Him. WAYS TO LISTEN & S...
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 201
What is the most honest thing you can say to God right now and is it okay to say it? We all experience difficult seasons in our lives, and sometimes they last a really long time. This seems to be the case for Heman, the author of Psalm 88 and a worship leader of Israel. How does he respond to God? Well, it's rather raw, and perhaps a bit uncomfortable, but it's honest. And there could be an example in this gut-wrenching Psalm for us too—of how we can respond to God when the worst happens. So buc...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 200
It's unfortunate that being concerned about the environment has taken on political undertones. But what we'll about this week is not about politics. We as Christians belong first to a heavenly kingdom and our value system is shaped and formed by our God. And part of our stewardship and responsibility is to care for the earth God created. God has entrusted us with the care of his creation; we are stewards, not the owners. Join the Discover the Word group this week as they take a closer look at pa...
Feb 16, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 199
A question seen often in the Old Testament is “Who is like you, God?” and demands the answer, “No one is like our God.” His wonders are incomparable and the gods of the nations don’t come close to him. Often when that question is asked, a descriptor of God’s uniqueness is provided to show just one area in which the God of wonders stands apart from all others. We want to explore a handful of those cases in these conversations so that we can be reminded together of the greatness and majesty of our...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 198
Do you like bread? What kinds? Do you bake bread? Bread shows up throughout the entire Bible—over 300 times, actually. But it doesn’t just represent food, it comes to represent the story of the Bible and the story of the Gospel. In a way, you could say that God is a Baker, and when we eat God’s tasty bread we may find that we never hunger again. Join the Discover the Word group as Daniel takes Mart and Elisa and Bill on a tour through the bakery of some passages that tell us about "God, the Bake...
Feb 02, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 197
Did you know that Jerusalem is the most frequently mentioned place named in the Bible? And if, as Bible geographer Dr. Jack Beck contends, place/location always matters, there's something extra special about Jerusalem in the Biblical story. Jerusalem is like no other city. And if you understand its uniqueness, you will understand not only all the attention it gets in the Bible but also why the stories and poetry of the Bible speak of it in the way they do. Explore Jerusalem--the City of God, wit...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 196
Did you know that Jerusalem is the most frequently mentioned place named in the Bible? And if, as Bible geographer Dr. Jack Beck contends, place/location always matters, there's something extra special about Jerusalem in the Biblical story. Jerusalem is like no other city. And if you understand its uniqueness, you will understand not only all the attention it gets in the Bible but also why the stories and poetry of the Bible speak of it in the way they do. Explore Jerusalem--the City of God, wit...
Jan 19, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 195
If any Bible character lived a life of seemingly constant danger, it was David—and we feel the weight of that danger most clearly in many of his psalms. Psalm 30 was one of those psalms where David wrestled with his experiences of danger, but in retrospect. Explore with the group how David learned to trust God's long game through all the downs and ups of life, and how we can learn to trust God's heart as well. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Ap...
Jan 12, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 194
Do you give back to God for all He’s given you? Why or why not? How? Do you give to the church, support a missionary, donate to a nonprofit, recycle your possessions for others, share a meal, stop at a traffic light to help someone hungry? The practice of giving traces through the Old and New Testaments, outlining how God invites His people into a practice of generosity in both receiving and investing His gifts in our world. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovert...
Jan 05, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 193
What distracts you? Is it always a bad thing? Are there specific distractions that can be negative? In a world of distractions, sometimes there is the need to focus on one thing—and the Bible reminds us of this on several occasions where the phrase “one thing” points us to issues and concerns that are deserving of our undistracted focus. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mk8ra1...
Dec 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 192
Last week, we listened to some conversations the Discover the Word group had some time ago, entitled “Christmas Names of Jesus,” which focused on Isaiah 9:6. This week, Bill leads Elisa and Rasool and Vivian back into some conversations in which they consider the same idea of Christmas names but from a different text: Matthew 1. More...Christmas Names in this edition of Discover the Word. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://...
Dec 22, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 191
Isaiah provides us with more messianic prophecy than any other Old Testament prophet. It should be no surprise that, when He speaks of the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9:6, the names he gives to Messiah describe the nature of the God-man who was to come, and whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: 📱On our website: https://www.discovertheword.org 🎧Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3x2Swlq 🎧Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mk8ra1 🎧Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3D9Tttv 🎧Yo...
Dec 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 190
Have you ever received a death sentence? Perhaps…we have many listeners from prisons in our world who cling to the hope of Jesus in the face of death. Some wrongly sentenced and unfairly treated. Some of us might be facing a literal death sentence of suffering in illness. Then, many of us experience a more figurative death sentence in terms of a call placed over our lives to commit to a cause, a person, a job, an illness, a plight that we did not choose but was chosen for us and we know we must ...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 189
