Most Christians would agree that the Jesus is the king of the Kingdom of God. At the same time many do not seem to grasp the full magnitude of having a king over their lives. In this episode, through a conversation that covers the old and the new testament, we explore what it means to have a king, what type of King Jesus was and the work that he came to do.
We are continuing our series on the Kingdom of God. In the second episode of the series we discuss what the kingdom of God is and how the definition of the Kingdom ought to shape our lives and the Church.
The Kingdom of God is one of the main narratives of the Bible; yet many Christians miss its core message and its importance. There is a range of reasons why that is so. In this episode we discuss some of them; from how we tend to read the Bible, to the church culture that we may belong to. We also discuss what is that we miss on when we do not take into account the narrative of the Kingdom. Overall, this is a great way to start off what we think is going to be an enriching series for our audienc...
Rodrigo and co-hosts, Alberto Figueroa, Johnny Reus and Nathan Figueroa discuss the way the political and social climate is affecting the church. In an election year full of very important issues, the chuch is being devided along political and ideological lines. How can the church remain unified in a climate like this? What does it mean to be unified when taking positions on very important issues seems like the right thing to do. Is unity even possible or is just a "nice idea"? Listen in as we d...
The book of Psalms is a compilation of poems, songs and prayers. It tends to be a book we use for inspirational quotes and poetic language but the book of Psalms is a lot more than that. It may be the perfect book to teach us how to put God at the center of everything.
The book of Acts is a Historical Narrative but we tend to read it as more than that. We tend to approach the book of Acts as if it were a blueprint for church. Although we can learn a lot about church from Acts, the driving force of the book and the most dynamic character in it is the Holy Spirit. Join Ryan and Rodrigo as they discuss how the point of Acts is the Spirit.
We tend to approach the Prophets with some degree of mystery. This is in great part due to the fact that they tell the future and are the voice of God. Is this mystery, however, appropriate to the prophets role and message. In this podcast we try to take the mystery away from the prophets in order to help you understand them better and ultimately get to know God in a deeper way.
The Bible is an ancient document. As such elements of literature like the narrator is different than what we are used to. Something else that is different is how these narrators portray their characters. Understanding how they are different is an important part of reading the Bible in a deep way.
Figuring out how to do church is hard. There are many things to take into account especially when we consider something like Sunday service. We can spend a lot of time and energy figuring out how to welcome people, what songs to sing, how to address the people who come in late. All of these things are good but is planning and structure the best way to address things like hospitality? Minister, Chris Haddock joins to talk about this and other issues that we easily label as church matters, but tha...
Conflict is a given in marriage, what is not as common is coming to an actual point of forgiveness. Carma Kuhn, a certified Mental Health Counselor who specializes in marriage, joins us to talk about how to arrive at an actual place of forgiveness in marriage. Join us as Carma shares her expertise on a subject that most of us think we know but we actually don't. If you are married you'll want to listen to this one.
We read books, we listen to music, we watch TV shows and movies all the while keeping into account the particular genre they belong to. Genres set our expectaions and help us understand what we are consuming. The Bible has genres as well, each with its particular features that should set expectations and help us understand what we are reading. However the majority of us are not aware of Biblical genres and therefore we end up missunderstanding or missinterpreting Scripture. Starting with this ep...
The Bible, although an ancient document, is relevant to us today because it applies to our lives. How it applies to our lives is a more intriguing and complicated question. The process of answering this question is called hermeneutics which is the next topic in our How to Study the Bible series. In this episode of our podcast we took Galatians 5, exegeted and then tried to answer the question, "How does this apply to us today?" Listen as we interpret this Biblical passage and attempt to answer t...
As Christians we can live lives that are ritualistic. We know things we have to do to be faithful, the places we need to be and the times we need to show up at. This can create a life in which we are constantly wondering, "Am I doing enough?" This is the place in which Keith Winship, minister at the Clemson Foothills Church, found himself in. A place that unintentionally led him to live a life in which he was constantly pursuing God's favor and never felt like he did enough to earn it. Over the ...
Travis Albritton creator of the Practical Christian Podcast and author of the book Small Group Leader Secrets, joins this Ether Talk to talk about how to best lead a small group. Whether you are a new or experienced family group leader you will want to listen to this podcast. We talk about, among other things, why do small groups; how to lead an engaging small group discussion and even how to choose and raise up leaders.
Rodrigo, Rachel and Ryan each pick a passage to exegetic and then we talk about it!
We know we should read the Bible; but how much? How deep should we get into it? In the spectrum between casual reader to Bible scholar, where should the average christian be? How should the Bible shape our political views. Alfredo Valentin from the Big Apple Church joins this Ether Talk us to discuss these questions and much more.
The core message and story line of the Bible are simple to understand, at the same time reading the Bible has its challenges. Especially when we take into account the range of consequences in interpreting the Bible incorrectly. In this new episode of our "How to Study the Bible" we discuss some of the challenges in interpreting Scripture, what is at stake when we misinterpret it and why we should care deeply about fully understanding the word of God.
Steve LaFrance, youth minister in the One Miami Church joins us to talk about obstacles to advancing the Kingdom of God. Obstacles that at times are part of our church culture or society that can get in the way of us advancing the Kingdom of God! WARNING: as part of this episode we talk politics!
In this the first podcast episode on our new series on How to Study the Bible we talk about how the Bible is not about us but it is about God. Even though it may seem counterintuitive realizing the fact that the Bible is about God can enrich the way that we learn and apply Scripture to our lives.
Johnny Reus is back to further discuss the Holy Spirit. On our last Ether Talk, he discussed the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Now he discusses the events that bridge the gap between the Old and New Testaments. We often think that the Holy Spirit's form and function changed between the Old and New Testaments. Upon further study however, we discover that they are the same. This fact has a great meaning and consequence to our lives as christians.
We are starting a new podcast segment that we are calling Ether Talks. In it we invite someone to come on and talk to us about a Bible topic they are passionate about. For this first episode we invited Johnny Reus, college and young professionals ministry in the Palm Beach Church of Christ, to talk to us about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Is the Spirit in the Old Testament different than in the the New Testament? Has its function changed? Listen and find out.
Mark 14-16 cover the last supper through the resurrection of the Christ. Then the book suddenly ends. We discuss some reasons as to why Mark would have ended his book in this way. We also give our final thoughts and lessons learned from the Gospel of Mark.
As the disciples admire the temple, Jesus tells them that soon there will not be a stone left of the temple. The disciples reaction upon hearing this is to ask when will this happen to which Jesus replies with a prophecy that seems mysterious and confusing. In this podcast we try to tackle the meaning of the prophecy as well as the question, what if any of it applies to us today.
When jesus comes to Jerusalem he gets into a series of conflicts with all the different members of the religious council known as the Sanhedrin. This council was the highest religious and political authority in all of Israel and also the group directly responsible for Jesus' crucifixion. In this podcast we go deep into the background of the Sanhedrin to try to understand their depth of influence and why they saw Jesus as such a threat.
When Jesus comes to Jerusalem, all of his activity revolves around the Temple. Including turning over of tables, driving people out of the temple courts and in chapter 13 of Mark prophesying about the destruction of the once magnificent building. One of the reasons why the men of the Sanhedrin seek to kill the so called Messiah is because of what he says and the actions he takes around the temple. The magnitude and breath of his actions can be lost on us if we do not understand the deep signific...
On our last episode we discussed the topic of divorce through Mark 10:1-12. We limited our discussion to the aformentioned scripture and the scripture that it alludes to in Deuteronomy. On this episode, with the aid of a guest speaker John Brush, elder of the Broward Church of Christ, we go even more in depth as we discuss many of the issues of discussion that revolve the topic of divorce.
Our society seems to make less and less of the issue of divorce. In Mark 10:1-12 the Pharisees approach Jesus about the topic, which was much more of a big deal in their time. Jesus teaching on divorce can seem strict and narrow. Fact that creates a lot of controversy in Christian circles. Join as we discuss this topic in part one of a two part series. In this episode we explore the greater context of divorce in Jewish culture, ours and what Jesus teaching on the topic ultimately teaches us abou...
From Mark 8 through 10 Jesus teaches discipleship and the morals of his kingdom. He challenges pre conceived notions of morality and challenges us to live in a way that does good to those around us. Listen as we discuss how Jesus wants us to live and the way it can impact the world!
