God calls us to be holy, but we can't make ourselves holy. What's the answer to this conundrum? The gospel! God is justified in commanding us to be holy, because He first calls us saints. Understanding our identity in Christ is key to becoming holy, because sanctification isn't a self-help program, but a work of God within us. Scriptures Referenced: Neh 8:10; Joh 15:5; Rom 6:19; 2Cor 3:18; 2Cor 5:17; Gal 6:8; 1Thes 4:3,7; Heb 10:10; 1Pet 1:16 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Foll...
Mar 07, 2022•22 min
What does it mean to repent? And is living by faith something that only full-time missionaries without salaries do? In this episode Mike and Matthew talk about how repentance and faith are closely linked, and how the Christian life is an ongoing turning from self to the Son of God and his saving love. Scriptures Referenced: Acts 20:21; 2Cor 7; Matt. 21:28-32; Luke 18:9-14; Gal. 2:20 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Feb 28, 2022•19 min
Everyone loves a story of sweet redemption, but there is no redemption story like that of the Christian gospel. The helpless are rescued. The bankrupt have their debt paid. Slaves are set free. Gospel freedom is the best kind of freedom, and not only has the gospel set us free from guilt through the blood of Christ, it also guarantees us a future redemption when our Redeemer returns. Scriptures Referenced: Gen 48:15-16; Ex 6:6-7; 12; Isa 43:1-2; Luk 9:24; Rom 8:23; Gal 5:1, 13; Eph 1:7, 13-14; P...
Feb 21, 2022•21 min
Don't let one more day go by without understanding the life-altering truth of justification by faith! It is a doctrine that is culturally relevant and personally relevant because it means we can live life out of a place of acceptance. Its many benefits include (1) peace with God, (2) living in a town called grace, (3) and the certain hope of a glorious future. Scriptures Referenced: Rom. 1-5 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook....
Feb 14, 2022•24 min
A boy visits Loch Ness. Instead of catching something, something catches him. He gives the rest of his life to the search for a mythical monster. We're all looking for a cause big enough to devote our lives to. When we encounter God in his holiness we discover a beauty captivating enough to hold our attention forever and a cause large enough to be worthy of all our devotion. God's holiness is captivating. And in capturing us, it sets us free. Scriptures Referenced: Isa 6; Exo 3; Lev 10:10; 1Jn 1...
Feb 07, 2022•21 min
The Bible doesn't just give us a theology of giving, it also gives us some how to. The Apostle Paul taught us the law of the harvest that we reap what we sow. In this episode we also learn about our Lord's principles of giving in his Sermon on the Mount, and touch on matters such as debt, and giving privately instead of publicly. Scriptures Referenced: 2Cor 8-9; Gal. 6 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Jan 31, 2022•24 min
Our Lord Jesus taught that it is more happy to give than to receive, and he should know. God is the happy God who gives with great generosity and joy. When we worship him we become joyfully generous too. And not only does worship produce giving, but our giving is part of our worship. Learn all this and more from special guest Justin Pratt, and see if it doesn't spread a smile on your face! Scriptures Referenced: Acts 20:35; Jam 1:17; 1Cor 9:15; 1Tim 1:11; Matt 6:63; Heb 13:16; Phil 4:18; Rom 12:...
Jan 24, 2022•19 min
Prayer can be hard work, and we need all the help we can get. One thing that helps is understanding how prayer relates to two other activities: reading the Bible and meditating. In this episode we go through a little poem that explains how it works: Before I read I pray / Before I pray I read / If in between I meditate / My heart knows what to say. Scriptures Referenced: Jude 20-21; John 15:5; Mat 11:28; Ps 86:11, 90:14, 119:18, 36; Jam 1:19; Mark 2 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episode...
Jan 17, 2022•22 min
Are you part of a local church, following the example of the early Christians in the Book of the Acts? Churches meet together. Many of the spiritual disciplines are private exercises, but the public activity of gathering together with the church is also a habit of grace. It is how we express our unity in Christ and is also for our own spiritual blessing. We shouldn't attend the meetings of the church to impress others, but we should look at it as an opportunity to encourage others. Scriptures Re...
Jan 10, 2022•22 min
One of the ways we can grow in enjoying and experiencing God's love is through learning theology. And one of the ways we learn theology is through reading Scripture and books about Scripture. This is the first in a short series of episodes on the spiritual disciplines, what David Mathis calls habits of grace. If your daily quiet time is lacking some sizzle, discover how replacing your devotional book with a good solid work of theology can make a world of difference. Scriptures Referenced: Jude; ...
Jan 03, 2022•17 min
According to God's definition of success, the setbacks you've experienced over the last two years aren't steps back but steps forward. Learn how the Christian definition of success helps us reflect on the disappointments of the past and face the uncertainties of the future. At the end, Mike and Matthew outline the next two months at Practicology. Lord willing, January's episodes will help us practice the spiritual disciplines, and February will feature a reading challenge. Make sure you listen t...
Dec 27, 2021•23 min
At the first Christmas, Mary was given a painful sword, but it was a sword sheathed with comfort. Are you going through pain this Christmas? Then join Mary in embracing the five comforts God gave her in her trial: the comfort of knowing (1) that suffering is normal for Christians, (2) God is in control, (3) that he is preparing you for the future, (4) and that you are not alone. The greatest comfort of all—a comfort that nothing can take away from you—is (5) the comfort of having Christ as your ...
Dec 20, 2021•20 min
The real Christmas story - that of Christ coming into the world - is an account of God's amazing grace. And the wonders and beauties of God's grace are seen on the opening page of the New Testament, before the Lord Jesus is even born. The family tree of Jesus Christ is not a boring list of hard to pronounce names - it is a genealogy of grace. Scriptures Referenced: Matthew 1:1-23Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook. Stock media provided by Peter Blomberg / Pond5.
Dec 13, 2021•19 min
Attention is a rare commodity. When you spend yours on another person, it is a generous gift of love. But there is also an indirect way of loving people with our attentiveness. When we make spending time in the presence of our kind Saviour a priority, we become kinder ourselves to those around us. Learn how the Scriptures call us to make the grace of Christ our focus, not all the debates and controversies. What will you focus on for the sake of the world? Scriptures Referenced: Titus 3:1-11Follo...
Dec 06, 2021•16 min
There is no book like the Bible and the Scriptures are our ultimate counselor. But we all learn from the ministry of others, including ministry that comes to us in written form. In this first installment of Cloak, Books, and Parchments (2Tim 4:13), Mike & Matthew share brief reviews of seven book titles for your reading pleasure. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Dec 02, 2021•18 min
John Stott wisely said, "The Bible is a dangerous book to read. For in reading the Bible, we hear the words of Christ." And as Christ speaks with authority like none other, we need to obey what we hear from Him. The great news is, building our life on obedience to his word is the safest thing to do! And when the storms of life blow against us, Christ's words prove to be a rock that can support us. Scriptures Referenced: Matthew 7:24-27; John 3:36; Rom 1:5; 1Pet 2:25 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com...
Nov 29, 2021•17 min
We can all fall into the bad habit of priding ourselves in not having actually committed an outrageous sin... but the Lord is looking for something deeper. Kingdom righteousness is not only seen in avoiding the big, public, obvious offences, but in pursuing Christ's standard from our hearts. Scriptures Referenced: Mat 5:6, 20-37; Php 3:4-9; Jam 1:20; 1Tim 5:2 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes. Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter here.
Nov 22, 2021•24 min
When Christ calls us to be his salt and light to the world, he's calling us to do this together. Don't let the seeming insignificance of your little light paralyze you from being faithful in the ordinary good works the Lord has given you to do. We are to be individual and communal, radical and ordinary. Our Father providentially takes our ordinary service and adds it to that of all his people to produce a global net effect to his glory. Scriptures Referenced: Mat 5:13-16 Visit PracticologyPodcas...
Nov 15, 2021•19 min
As Christians we are prone to veering into ditches. We focus on befriending the lost, but end up losing our Christian distinctiveness. So we start pursuing personal holiness, but in doing so cut off contact with the world. In his sermon on the mountain, Jesus lines our path with two rumble strips: (1) you are the salt of the earth, and (2) you are the light of the world. Together these rumble strips corral us into the radical centre--we are to be utterly separate, in close proximity to the world...
Nov 08, 2021•18 min
How many disagreements could be overcome if Christians really understood that their own faction and the one they are fighting with are both fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God? In this second half of Vincent Kember's discussion on Christian unity, we consider some of the threats to unity and the way to enjoy unity. While unity is not something we can conjure, it is something we can nurture. Listen for Vincent's three practical, concrete ways in which we can do tha...
Nov 01, 2021•21 min
What are Christians to do with all the conspiracy theories swirling around? Obsess over them? Research them to death? Lose sleep over them all? The gospel teaches us to make three moves: First, we try level the playing field and see that all of us believe in at least one conspiracy theory. Second, we diagnose our heart's attractions to conspiracy theories. Third, we go to the cross of Christ and the gospel. Learn how to overcome our fears of conspiracy theories, not by obsessing over them, but b...
Oct 25, 2021•23 min
It is easy to mistake uniformity for unity, but true Christian unity isn't dependent on wearing the same color tie or reading the same type of literature in your spare time. Biblical unity is centered on Jesus Christ. And sometimes the external differences that initially catch the eye of man can even serve to amplify true Christian unity. Scriptures Referenced: Ac 2:1-11; Ac 11:23; Rom 15:5-6; 1Cor 12:12-13 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitte...
Oct 18, 2021•26 min
Colossians 1:12 is a great verse for Thanksgiving Day. It tells us to give thanks with joy to the Father. Learn Paul's special recipe for making every day a happy day of thanksgiving. Scriptures Referenced: Col 1:3, 9-14; 3:15; 1Th 5:18; 1Pet 3:18 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Oct 11, 2021•21 min
When Israel was saved out of Egypt, they sang praise to God, on the banks of the Red Sea. If you have been redeemed, the Lord has put a new song in your mouth - so sing it! As people saved by the Lord, we have good reason to praise him in song. But what should we be singing? Scriptures Referenced: Ex 15; Mt 26:30; 1Cor 14:15,26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Oct 04, 2021•23 min
Whether autumn is your favourite season of the year or least favourite, Psalm 65 is for you. Its strange celebration of the forgiveness of sins and the fall harvest teach us how much the gospel has to offer lovers of nature and those who care about the environment. In this episode we learn how to enrich our enjoyment of autumn, share the gospel with our friends who want to save the earth, and deepen our hunger for heaven. Scriptures Referenced: Ps 65; 1Ki 8:35-36 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com fo...
Sep 27, 2021•19 min
Have you ever had a bath? Good, that's important. But do you know what else is important? Getting your feet washed regularly. The world is a spiritually defiling place and as we walk through it, our feet get dirty. To walk with the Lord, we need to have our feet cleaned, and the Lord is graciously willing to do that for us. Scriptures Referenced: Joh 13:5-10; Ex 29-30 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Sep 20, 2021•22 min
This year, go back to school or college with attitude! If you're a Christian you're too special to sin. According to 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, you belong to God by creation, by redemption, and by indwelling. Learn how to walk away from sinful temptations by saying, "I'm too special for that." Scriptures Referenced: 1Cor 6:12-20; 1Pt 1:18-19 Visit PracticologyPodcast.com for more episodes.Follow the Practicology Podcast on Twitter and Facebook.
Sep 13, 2021•20 min
Martin Luther aptly described our sinful nature as "so deeply curved in on itself that it wickedly seeks all things, even God, for its own sake.” While it is vital to appreciate God's interest in us as individuals, it is also crucial to remember the universe isn't all about me. God has a big thing going on, and the gospel invites us to be a part of it. This Psalm started out with David speaking about "my soul." Then he began to speak about "us" and "those who fear" the Lord. Now at the end of th...
Sep 06, 2021•19 min
Many of us experience an emotional and existential fear about the Bible's "fearing God" language. The emotional fear has to do with what such language implies about God's character: is he threatening, or loving? The existential fear is the kind we feel when we read the precious assurances of Psalm 103. God has compassion on those who fear him. If I don't fear him enough, does that mean he isn't compassionate towards me? Learn how to confront your fears about fearing God head on. The right kind o...
Aug 30, 2021•22 min
J. I. Packer wrote: "If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father." Meanwhile David in Psalm 103 wrote: "As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him." In this third episode tied to our August Summer Challenge, learn how believers in Christ can experience the compassionate fatherhood of God in ways far beyond what even David could en...
Aug 23, 2021•21 min
