Along with his other brothers and sisters, James started out as an unbeliever—though he was a half-sibling of Jesus—until Christ's resurrection. Nancy Guthrie takes us through verses from the Gospels, the Book of Acts, and historical writings to show us James's journey as the leader of the church in Jerusalem, a pastor, peacemaker, doer of the Word, and a man who remained steadfast under trial. In all this, we learn the significance of why James refers to himself as “a servant of God and of the ...
Nov 11, 2022•48 min•Ep. 241
“God’s eternal plan for your life includes your physicality.” — Sam Allberry At TGC21, Sam Allberry gives five reasons why our bodies are good and how we should treat them as we wait for bodily redemption. Our bodies are not accidental, for we were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139) Our bodies are not incidental. God created Adam in the flesh and then breathed life into him. The flesh is not just a casing for our soul. Our bodies are not straight-forward. We are broken and have been s...
Nov 04, 2022•47 min•Ep. 240
At TGC21, Michael Horton explains how we, as sinners, can take our sin to a holy God without fear because of our sympathetic high priest, Jesus. Horton takes Friedrich Nietzsche’s writing on “the ugliest man,” who claimed to kill God because he couldn’t bear to have someone know his dirtiest corners, and parallels it with how we can bring our dirtiest sins to the Father through Jesus, without shame. Using Hebrews 4, Horton shows how Jesus is a glorious High Priest, a sympathetic High Priest, and...
Oct 28, 2022•19 min•Ep. 239
If we want our kids to love Jesus, we must also want them to love the church. In her message at TGCW21, Megan Hill gives five ways to practically teach our kids to love the local church. Acknowledge our kids’ experiences. Know that church isn’t always easy for them, and talk to them about it. Remove practical obstacles. Sometimes what they don’t like about church isn’t spiritual and can be changed. Teach them that church is good. Disciple children at home so that practices at church don’t feel f...
Oct 21, 2022•42 min•Ep. 238
“At the core of our identity as Christians is this thing that says, ‘Jesus is more important to us than anything else,’ and it causes us to lean toward one another, not away from each other.” — Mark Vroegop At TGC's 2021 National Conference, Mark Vroegop, Kori Porter, and Irwyn Ince discuss why lament is a key component of racial reconciliation. The panel answers tough questions: What is racial reconciliation? Why is it so important? Why is it so difficult? Lament is a tool Christians must use i...
Oct 14, 2022•43 min•Ep. 237
“We don’t persevere in order to be saved. We persevere because we have been saved. God has made it possible for us to maintain faithfulness to Jesus, and God is invested in our faithfulness to him.” –– Glenna Marshall At TGCW21, Glenna Marshall delivers a practical message on how to be faithful in the small things, noting that it takes time to see spiritual growth. This perseverance and faithfulness are only possible in the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit. Teaching through Hebrew...
Oct 07, 2022•45 min•Ep. 236
“Whatever [sin] it is, God is still gracious to redeem you and to keep you. He will never leave nor forsake you.” — Kori Porter Kori Porter outlines the steps of sin through King David’s adultery and murder: sin always starts with desire, sin leads to more sin, and sin produces death. Through this progression, Porter teaches that we have many points of escape when we’re in sin—God will give us a way out and give us the power to fight sin through prayer and the reading of his Word. Just as David ...
Sep 30, 2022•46 min•Ep. 235
In their breakout session at TGC21, Kevin DeYoung, Ligon Duncan, Melissa Kruger, and Nancy Guthrie discuss what it means to have a healthy, biblical view of complementarianism. Melissa Kruger defines complementarianism as understanding men and women to be “equal in worth and dignity, and different in how we live that out in the world.” The panel answers questions like “What does healthy and unhealthy complementarianism look like?” and “How do we graciously argue for it when others disagree?” As ...
Sep 23, 2022•48 min•Ep. 234
Megan Hill, Lauren Hansen, and Lindsey Carlson discuss what the wives of pastors and elders need in order to thrive as they support their husbands and churches. The panel answers questions like: How do you handle being seen as a spiritual giant in the church? How do you encourage your husband during a difficult time of pastoring? How do you transition out of relationships into new ones when you move for ministry? Lindsey Carlson closes by encouraging women, “Model to your congregations that you ...
Sep 16, 2022•25 min•Ep. 233
“I believe we need to read, interpret, and preach Christ and his gospel from all the Scriptures.” – Julius Kim At TGC21, Julius Kim explains how to deliver a sermon with wisdom and grace for the growth of God’s kingdom. Kim says that it is critical to preach Christ through every passage, and he gives four specific ways to prepare a sermon, with key tips on how to preach it once prepared: Discover the truth about the text according to the human author. Discern Christ in the text according to the ...
Sep 09, 2022•49 min•Ep. 232
“If we were to delight in the Ten Commandments, we would begin to live on earth as a citizen of heaven, anticipating that future sweetness when we, like Christ, fully obey the law.” –– Jen Wilkin Jen Wilkin delivers a message at TGCW21 on expanding our understanding of and obedience to the Ten Commandments. Wilkin emphasizes the importance of delighting in God’s law and explains the good that comes from it: “Personal obedience always results in collateral benefit. When one of us obeys God's law,...
Sep 02, 2022•54 min•Ep. 231
“At the end of the book of Revelation, we see that Jesus, the second Adam, will not fail to lead us into a garden that will be even better than Eden—where we will enjoy fellowship with him for all eternity. So, don't be afraid of Revelation.” Nancy Guthrie gives four common fears we may have when approaching the book of Revelation: 1. We fear that we’re not going to understand it and, if we’re teaching it, that we’ll get it wrong. 2. We fear the controversy that surrounds the book. 3. We fear th...
Aug 26, 2022•46 min•Ep. 230
“The end of the ages has indeed broken into history. Christ is the perfect Adam . . . who has come to achieve what all those before him have failed to achieve.” – Benjamin Gladd In their message at TGC's 2021 national conference, Greg Beale and Benjamin Gladd explain the importance of eschatology in the Christian's understanding of all of Scripture. The storyline of Jesus—his death, resurrection, and ascension—is crucial to equipping the Christian for all of life. As we understand the Old Testam...
Aug 19, 2022•45 min•Ep. 229
In her message at TGC's 2022 women's conference, Nancy Guthrie delivers a strategy on how to teach the Bible with both passion and personality. She encourages us to teach with passion—in a way that our love for the Scriptures is evident. And with personality—where the aim is to develop a relationship with our audience. Guthrie then provides 12 practical tools to help us overcome the fear of inserting ourselves into Bible teaching: 1. Use humor as a way to break down barriers and unite the audien...
Aug 12, 2022•44 min•Ep. 228
“We don't live in a moralistic age where we need to prove people to be sinners, we live in an anxious age, where we need to prove to people they're worth something.” – Sam Allberry Brett McCracken, Sam Allberry, and Trevin Wax discuss how Christians should gracefully and biblically engage our current sexual culture, specifically with the rapid progression of LGBTQ and transgender identity. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use ...
Aug 05, 2022•45 min•Ep. 227
A. Craig Troxel expounds on what Scripture says about the heart, and teaches how to re-orient the heart towards Christ. Troxel explains that the word “heart” in Scripture actually refers to three different parts of our inner selves: the mind, the desires, and the will. The mind’s heart is what you know, the desire’s heart is what you want, and the will’s heart is what you choose. The goal of the Christian life is not duty, but joy, and in order to get there, we need the Holy Spirit to teach us h...
Jul 29, 2022•41 min•Ep. 226
In his message at TGC21, Lloyd Kim defines social justice as giving equity, fairness, and inalienable rights to all people, and he explains why the gospel is included as a right. Kim gives five objections and solutions for why Christians might not be answering the call to global missions. In addressing all these roadblocks to missions, Kim provides encouragement to answer the call to the Great Commission and bring Jesus to the unreached. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz....
Jul 22, 2022•36 min•Ep. 225
At TGCW21, Ligon Duncan taught from the book of Romans on the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the Christian life to conform us into the image of Jesus. Duncan encourages Christians to endure the work of sanctification through God’s Spirit, even when it’s discouraging. He gives five truths about sanctification that help anchor the soul: 1. Justification and sanctification both ground our sense of freedom in the Christian life, providing a way to obey. 2. God’s grace always produces heart change in ...
Jul 15, 2022•41 min•Ep. 224
A lot of the advice we hear about how to use social media—don’t be mean, don’t humblebrag, share Bible verses—is good. But it also doesn’t feel like enough. Social media is a huge beast, and we need more than “set a timer” (as helpful as that can be) to help us navigate the world of social media in a gospel-centered way. Pulling in part from TGC's book, Social Sanity in an Insta World , panelists Amy Gannett, Blair Linne, and Laura Wifler explore ways of using social media to the glory of God. T...
Jul 08, 2022•40 min•Ep. 223
Teaching from Romans chapters 11 and 12, Jen Wilkin expounds on Paul’s call to know and worship God in order to be transformed. We must ask “Who is God?” before we can know our own identity. Wilkin outlines three truths about God that help us understand how to become living sacrifices for him: God has all riches God has all wisdom God has all knowledge Because God owns all things, we cannot extort or blackmail him. Because God holds all information (knowledge) perfectly and effortlessly, he can ...
Jul 01, 2022•52 min•Ep. 222
Juan Sánchez helps pastors identify leaders who imitate Christ based on four necessary traits: character, conviction, competency, and credibility. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jun 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 221
In her message at TGCW21, Nancy Guthrie defines biblical theology and how it can transform Bible study as we gain a greater understanding of the Bible through it. Guthrie says biblical theology is a way of seeing the Bible as one cohesive story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Approaching the Scriptures with biblical theology as a framework, Christians should experience a deeper awe of what Christ has done, not an overwhelming feeling of what we have to do. The smaller storie...
Jun 17, 2022•52 min•Ep. 220
Teaching on Romans 5 at TGCW21, Kathleen Nielson highlights the truth that God’s grace is always abounding. She explains grace in relation to the past, present, and future—that we have been reconciled with God through Christ (past), that we have access to God right now (present), and that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God awaiting us (future). Nielson says we cannot discover this grace on our own. Instead, we experience it together as the body of Christ, encouraging and strengthening ea...
Jun 10, 2022•45 min•Ep. 219
In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On this episode, we’re featuring the fifth and final debate in our series, where Ryan Burge and Andrew Walker engage in a discussion whether evangelicals should be defined by sociology or theology. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for fu...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min
In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today’s episode, we’re featuring the fourth debate, where Brian Davis and Justin Giboney discuss how the church should address racial injustice. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, v...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 5 min
In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today’s episode, we’re featuring the third debate, where Scott Klusendorf and Karen Swallow Prior discuss the pro-life cause and what it should, and should not, encompass. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with y...
Jun 08, 2022•51 min
In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today’s episode, we’re featuring the second debate, where Sean DeMars and Rebecca McLaughlin discuss whether “woke church” is a step toward theological compromise. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staf...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In spring 2022, TGC released a five-part video debate series featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today. On today’s episode, we’re featuring the first debate, where Bob Thune and Andrew Wilson discuss the topic of gun control. Pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church moderates this debate. To watch videos from the debates and download free resources for further discussion with your staff or small group, visit goodfaithdebates.com ...
Jun 08, 2022•53 min
John Yates leads a pastoral panel with Matt Carter, Vermon Pierre, and Afshin Ziafat in a discussion on how hard ministry can be and what it takes to not lose heart. They discuss their personal experience of carrying the weight of the church and encountering criticism and fatigue. Together, they suggest how to prevent burnout by having: great mentors, friends inside the church, and a safe place to confess sin. They close with an emphasis on the importance of being surrounded by other believers a...
Jun 03, 2022•46 min•Ep. 218
On today’s bonus episode of TGC Podcast, we’re featuring a selection from TGC’s narrative podcast, Recorded . In "Escape from Kabul", TGC senior writer Sarah Zylstra tells the story of God's dramatic work through the underground church in Afghanistan. To hear the full episode, subscribe to Recorded on Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Jun 01, 2022•22 min
