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Podcast 322 -- Paul's Cutting Remarks Galatians 5:1-15 Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

To grasp Paul's message it’s essential to understand what he means by “freedom.” In America, freedom means independence and self-actualization. Therefore we must be on guard of replacing slavery of the Law with slavery of identity, nation, culture, career and, most of all, ego. To Paul and the early Christians, freedom was liberation--not just from the Law--but also from barriers created by tradition, culture, class and ethnicity that stood in the way of a radical interdependence. Davey Gibson, associate pastor of education and discipleship at Sugar Land Baptist Church and co-author of our study, joins our conversation.

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Podcast 321 -- Who Stole Your Joy? Galatians 4:12-20, Psalm 98:4-9 Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

We are a people claimed by God as children and heirs. The Psalms exhort us to shout for joy. When C.S. Lewis came to God, he was surprised by joy. Yet it seems, going all the way back to the Galatian church in AD 50, that there have been those determined to make Christian life and worship as doleful and dolorous as possible. What is Christian joy? What is the difference between joy and happiness? And how can men, as leaders cultivate and express the spirit of joy in our church and lives?

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Podcast 320 -- "Why, Then, Was the Law Given?" Galatians 3:15-4:7 Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

In fulfilling the Law, Paul says Christ freed us to live in faith by the Holy Spirit. So what role does Mosaic Law, from the Ten Commandments on down, have in our Christian lives? We debate one commentator's assertion that, when faced with a moral quandary, "Christians who are seeking God's will do not turn first of all to the Law of Moses for direction." If not there, then where? Has Christ's victory over sin and death really freed us from all Old Testament commands, rules and requirements? Join us as we dissect one of the most complex sections of scripture that continues to prompt questions and arguments.

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Podcast 319 -- The Limits of the Law Galatians 3:1-14 Feb 13, 2024

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Paul chides the Galatians for falling into "Christ-Plus" thinking in terms of salvation. Yet even today, We Christians still fall back on expressing our religion through adherence to arbitrary rules extracted from Old and New Testament writings, regardless of the context. Should Christian women wear trousers or cut their hair short? Does the Bible declare medical marijuana off-limits? When does practice of a spiritual discipline morph into pride and stubbornness? Steve brings some case studies to discuss.

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Podcast 318 -- Blow-Up in Antioch Galatians 2:11-21 Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

Peter visits Antioch and Paul calls him out publicly for eschewing gentile converts and folding to pressure from Judaizers who demand all new believers follow the letter of Mosaic Law. We talk about why Paul was right, but also try to understand what political and religious and cultural forces behind the "circumcision party's" demand for absolute observance of the law. The dispute resonates through the centuries as today's American Christians try their best to embrace an influx of believers from all parts of the world. Would we, like Peter, rather retreat to a separate table with comfortable companions? Or like Paul, should we be prepared to embrace the many national, cultural and racial differences we see among the world of believers? And how do we follow Paul's route to confrontation and resolution of differences?

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Podcast 317 -- "Sometimes You've Got to Stir Up the Water a Bit" Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

The Professor and the Gambler dive into Season Two of The Chosen, the crowd-funded breakout Christian hit. Amid gathering crowds, bickering apostles, Zealot plots, Sanhedrin politics and a wise-cracking Imperial secret agent, Jesus prepares to launch his ministry with a sermon-as-manifesto. We look at the Christian themes that run through the season, unearth a few Biblical Easter eggs and admire the storytelling risks the producers are pulling off.

Also please visit our sponsor Magic Mind at www.magicmind.com/JANnochurch. Use the coupon code NoChurch20 to subscribe and save 56% on your first delivery!

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Podcast 316 -- The Circumcision Debate Galatians 2:1-10 Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

That some early Christians insisted that gentile converts submit to the Jewish circumcision rite touched off the early church's first great crisis. Some say Paul just sought to cynically rewrite scripture to dispense with the requirement. We look at the some of Biblical arguments he makes, including his insistence that even in the Old Testament, righteousness came first through faith, not Torah Law or ritual. Does salvation have any prerequisites? The fellows discuss.

Also please visit our sponsor Magic Mind at www.magicmind.com/JANnochurch. Use the coupon code NoChurch20 to subscribe and save 56% on your first delivery!

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Podcast 315 -- Saul's Radical Conversion Galatians 1:11-24 Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

To this day the story of Saul of Tarsus cannot help but seize the imagination. Saul was the brightest of rising stars among the Jerusalem high priests and pharisees and was being groomed for leadership. He proved he could even do the “dirty work” of investigating, arresting and imprisoning and executing Christians as blasphemers.

Yet all the changed one day on the road to Damascus. We look at Paul's conversion as he tells it in the Letter to Galatians and, by extension, the conversion experience in general. We don't deny it comes in many different forms, each suited to the individual, and can be difficult for Christians to describe and outright confounding to non-Christians.

Also please visit our sponsor Magic Mind at www.magicmind.com/JANnochurch. Use the coupon code NoChurch20 to subscribe and save 50% on your first delivery!

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Podcast 314 -- Speak Truth Fearlessly Galatians 1:1-10 Jan 09, 2024

Show notes

Paul gets right to the point: There is one true gospel, he says, and is "astonished" at how quickly the Galatians could be swayed by those who would alter the fundamental message of grace through faith. We often find ourselves scolded by believers and non-believers alike that Christian humility means "go along to get along." Paul's opening in Galatian stands in stark contrast to this notion. In a culture that embraces relativism, what is the Christian obligation to truth? Also please visit our sponsor Magic Mind at www.magicmind.com/JANnochurch. Use the coupon code NoChurch20 to subscribe and save 50% on your first delivery.

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Podcast 313 -- A Working Man's Christmas Luke 2:8-19,20 Dec 19, 2023

Show notes

In our fourth annual Christmas special, we look at the shepherds -- the working stiffs of the Nativity narrative. Although often relegated the the background, their role is indispensable to the Christmas story. We look at the significance of God's choice of shepherds to be the first recipients of the news of the Messiah's birth and what it can teach Christian men today.

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