The Theopolis Podcast

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Episode 889: Ornament Between Work and Rest, by Dr. John Ahern Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

In this lecture from the 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference, Dr. John Ahern argues that ornament is not an unnecessary addition to useful things, but the natural overflow of human love, gratitude, and delight. He explores ornamentation as the meeting place of work and rest: the patient, repetitive labor of the six days gathered up and enjoyed in the contemplation of the seventh. Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Hugh of Saint Victor, John Ruskin, and the history of architecture and craftsmanship, Ahern shows how ornament unites beauty and usefulness, gives dignity to labor, and reflects the fruitfulness of God’s creation. Against modern minimalism, planned obsolescence, and instrumentalized work, “Ornament Between Work and Rest” calls for the recovery of a world in which our tools, homes, buildings, and common life once again bear the marks of gratitude, abundance, and joyful submission. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

Episode 888: The Gift of Land and Mission (Judges 1) Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Peter Leithart, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges by turning to chapter 1 and the unfinished conquest of the land. They explore how the opening chapters frame the whole book, including Israel’s tribal failures, the recurring cycle of idolatry and deliverance, the chronology of Joshua’s death, and the distinction between conquering the land and truly taking possession of it. Along the way they discuss Judah’s alliance with Simeon, the defeat and mutilation of Adoni-Bezek, Jerusalem’s contested conquest, Caleb and Achsah’s request for springs of water, and the creational and bridal imagery embedded in Israel’s inheritance. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

Episode 887: Judges - A Comedy of Horrors Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Judges is a book of riddles, grotesque comedy, tribal fracture, liturgical chaos, and unexpected deliverance. Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon open a new Theopolis series on the book of Judges, considering why this strange and violent book rewards close attention. The conversation explores the legacy of James Jordan’s work on Judges, the book’s intricate literary design, its unusual heroes and weapons, its recurring images of mutilation and deliverance, and the long Christian tradition of reading figures like Samson as types of Christ. Along the way, the discussion moves through Jonathan Edwards on Samson, E.T.A. Davidson’s work on the book’s visual “tableaux,” the role of women like Deborah and Jael, the political and tribal tensions of Israel, and the repeated refrain that “there was no king in Israel.” The episode closes by considering how Judges exposes Israel’s liturgical disorder and points beyond human kingship to the reign of Yahweh. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

Episode 886: How Music Orders Our Affections, with John Ahern Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

In this re-released lecture, Dr. John Ahern explores why music moves us so deeply, arguing that music works not only through text and melody but through deeper structures—harmony, rhythm, form, and repetition—that shape our emotions often before we consciously notice them. He traces the rise of “art music” as a kind of substitute liturgy and contrasts ancient, churchly, and modern ways of understanding music’s power over the soul. Along the way, Ahern shows why debates about worship music run emotionally hot: music is not neutral background, but a force that orders—or disorders—our affections, desires, and imagination. _____ John Ahern is the director of the Te Deum Music Fellows Program at Theopolis. Learn more and apply, here: https://theopolisinstitute.com/te-deum-music-fellows-program/ _____ Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

Episode 885: The Church as the New Humanity (Q&A Episode) Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

In this Q&A episode, Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, and James Bejon take up listener questions on John Webster, the structure of 1 Corinthians, church polity, and the modern debate over race and marriage. They commend Webster as a rigorous and uplifting Reformed theologian, then trace the unifying threads of 1 Corinthians through Paul’s concerns for love, unity, the body, and rightly ordered freedom. The conversation also explores Theopolitan instincts on polity—holding together local rule, presbyterial order, and episcopal responsibility—before turning to the church as the new humanity in Christ, a chosen people drawn from every tribe, tongue, and nation. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres

Episode 884: Star Signs - Part 1 (Revelation 12:1-5), with James Jordan Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

James B. Jordan continues his Revelation series with a study of Revelation 12:1–5, showing how the “great signs” in heaven reveal the drama of the old creation coming to its end. He explains the woman clothed with the sun, the dragon, and the child through the imagery of Israel, the constellations, the temple, and the long biblical story from Eve to Christ. Along the way, Jordan argues that Revelation is not abstract symbolism but a heavenly unveiling of history under God’s rule, culminating in the victory of Christ and the formation of His bride, the Church. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres

Episode 883: Can Evangelicals Recover Liturgy? (Q&A Episode) Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

In this Q&A episode, Peter Leithart is joined by Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon to answer listener questions on Trinitarian theology, church unity, family worship, evangelism, and liturgy. They discuss the monarchy of the Father, the biblical pattern of calling the Father “God” and Jesus “Lord,” and the mystery of the Trinity’s unity. They also consider what a future united church might look like, how families can practice worship at home without confusing household devotion with church liturgy, whether evangelism is hindered in places devoted to other gods, and how evangelicals can recover richer liturgical practices without simply becoming “high church.” GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres Show less

Episode 882: The Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4) Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

Malachi closes with a vision of the coming day: burning like a furnace for the wicked, but rising with healing for those who fear the Lord’s name. Peter Leithart, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon discuss the final chapter of Malachi, tracing its imagery of fire, harvest, threshing floor, calves released from the stall, and the sun of righteousness with healing in its wings. Along the way the conversation moves through John the Baptist’s warnings, Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the temple as the Lord’s threshing floor, and the Exodus-shaped release of God’s faithful remnant. The episode closes by considering why Malachi ends with Moses and Elijah, how John the Baptist comes in the spirit and power of Elijah, and how the Lord promises to heal the breach between fathers and children before the great and terrible day. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres

Episode 881: The Seventh Trumpet (Revelation 11:14-19), with James Jordan May 29, 2026

Show notes

James Jordan continues his walk through the Book of Revelation. To listen to this ENTIRE series right now (with class notes!), download the Theopolis App! Use the code "theopolitan" to get your first month for FREE. app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu

Episode 880: Vain to Serve God? (Malachi 3:13–18) May 27, 2026

Show notes

Malachi’s final disputation exposes Israel’s despairing complaint: “It is vain to serve God.” Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon explore the loss of confidence that comes when the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous appear unrewarded. Along the way the conversation moves through Psalm 73, Job, the biblical shape of the problem of evil, the difference between short-term reward and eschatological vindication, and the priestly language of serving and guarding that echoes Adam’s task in Eden. The episode closes with Malachi’s surprising portrait of the faithful remnant: those who fear the Lord, speak with one another, and are written in His book of remembrance as His treasured possession — a remnant finally distilled in Jesus, the faithful Israelite. GIVE TO THEOPOLIS! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres

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