The Westminster Podcast

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Our Hope is in Help w/ Pierce Hibbs Apr 27, 2026

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Brandon McLean Smith is Joined by Pierce Taylor Hibbs to talk about his new book Our Hope is in Help. The conversation covers the concept of autonomy and how none of us can truly be independent from the Lord. We rely on his for everything and thus should always be quick to seek help from him and others.

Buy your copy of Our Hope is in Help now.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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The Scottish Tempest — Episode 4: Blood and Fire Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Driven from England as the fires of Marian persecution begin to consume the very church he helped build, John Knox watches from exile as his friends burn, his flock scatters, and his life’s work is undone. What begins as grief hardens into fury, as Knox wrestles not only with the suffering of his people but with his own absence from their trials, forced into a retreat that feels like betrayal.

But the terror engulfing England was not born overnight. Behind the flames lies a dynastic crisis decades in the making—Henry VIII’s obsession with legacy, a marriage unraveling under political and theological strain, and a young princess shaped from birth to be a pawn in the ruthless game of European power. As Queen Mary ascends the throne, the personal becomes apocalyptic: a kingdom convulses, a church is purged by fire, and Knox is left to ask not only how it happened, but what must now be done.

Warning: This episode contains some graphic depictions of Martyrdom so listener discretion is advised.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Irish Monasticism w/ Stafford Carson & Todd Rester Apr 20, 2026

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Prayer, Gratitude, and the Christian Life w/ Dr. Greg Parker Jr. Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

Recorded live at the Kuyper Conference in Grand Rapids, this episode features a conversation with Greg Parker Jr., a theologian and scholar of Herman Bavinck, reflecting on his academic journey, current work in theological education, and research in neo-Calvinism. Parker discusses his engagement with Abraham Kuyper’s pastoral theology, particularly his exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Lord’s Prayer, highlighting themes of ascent and descent as a framework for understanding prayer, the Christian life, and communion with God. The conversation also explores the importance of translating and retrieving Bavinck’s works for the church, the pastoral dimension of systematic theology, and the need for careful theological engagement with contemporary questions such as human identity, bioethics, and artificial intelligence.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Confessional Theology and the Neo-Calvinist Vision w/ Dr. Gray Sutanto Apr 06, 2026

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Recorded live at the Kuyper Conference at Calvin University, this episode features a conversation with Dr. Gray Sutanto, alumnus of Westminster Theological Seminary and professor of systematic theology at RTS Washington, D.C. Sutanto reflects on his academic work in neo-Calvinism, particularly his efforts to retrieve and clarify the theological legacy of figures like Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. He highlights the coherence between neo-Calvinism and confessional Reformed theology, emphasizing that neo-Calvinism is not reducible to cultural transformationalism or theonomy, but rather represents a historically rooted, theologically rich movement seeking to articulate Christianity as a comprehensive worldview in the modern age.

The discussion also explores the nature of theological retrieval, arguing for a model that is both historically grounded and constructively forward-looking. Sutanto outlines how neo-Calvinism exemplifies this balance by drawing deeply from the Reformed tradition while addressing the intellectual and social challenges of modernity—particularly in its articulation of common grace, sphere sovereignty, and the relationship between church and state. The episode concludes with reflections on the reception of neo-Calvinism in English-speaking contexts, the importance of recovering Bavinck’s broader corpus, and the ongoing task of cultivating a robust, confessionally rooted theology that speaks meaningfully to contemporary cultural and ecclesial life.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Has Science Made God Unnecessary? w/ Ransom Poythress Mar 30, 2026

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In this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Dr. Ransom Poythress, professor of biology at Houghton University, reflects on the relationship between Christian faith and the scientific enterprise, beginning with Psalm 104 as a vision of a world created and sustained by God. He addresses the limits of hyper-specialization and the scientific method, arguing that science itself depends on realities—mind, order, and a knowable world—that are best explained within a Christian framework. Moving beyond critique, Dr. Poythress casts a positive vision of science as a meaningful Christian vocation, where the pursuit of knowledge, healing, and stewardship reflects the biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption, inviting believers to engage science with humility, wonder, and worship

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Song of Songs w/ Dr. Iain Duguid Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Nate Shannon is joined by Iain Duguid as they explore the depths of the Song of Songs. They discuss the challenges of translating poetry, the interpretive strategies, and the profound biblical insights into love, marriage, and Christ's relationship with the church.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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St. Patrick: Missionary to Ireland w/ Todd Rester Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

In light of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, Nate Shannon is joined by Westminster professor of Church History Todd Rester to reflect on the life and witness of St. Patrick. Moving beyond popular legends, the conversation traces Patrick’s remarkable story from his upbringing in fifth-century Roman Britain, to his capture and enslavement in Ireland as a teenager, to his eventual return to the very land of his enslavement as a missionary of Christ. Drawing from Patrick’s own Confession, Dr. Rester highlights the humility, Trinitarian orthodoxy, and deep sense of divine providence that shaped Patrick’s life and ministry.

They also consider why Patrick remains such an important figure for the church today. Rather than treating him merely as a subject of historical curiosity, the discussion explores how Patrick was remembered, read, and spiritually imitated in the centuries that followed. His example of self-denial, gospel conviction, and sacrificial love for a hostile people becomes a testimony to the grace of God at work in history.

Digital Identity w/ Justin Poythress Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Nate Shannon is joined again by Justin Poythress to discuss the complex issues of digital identity, its impact on relationships, and how Christians can navigate the digital age with biblical wisdom. Their conversation explores the influence of social media, online relationships, and the importance of representing Christ in digital life.

If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Daily Grace and Deep Sorrow w/ Jeremy Schmucker Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

Jeremy Schmucker joins Nate Shannon to recount the Lord’s providential leading through sorrow, theological formation, and vocational redirection. Raised in a Christian home and later shaped by a wide range of evangelical contexts, Jeremy describes a growing conviction that ministry must be ordered not merely around giftedness (including music) but around the shepherding of souls through the Word. That path eventually brought him to Westminster for the MATS and into a deeper appreciation of the gospel’s coherence, especially the already/not yet reality that acknowledges both Christ’s finished victory and the real presence of grief, scars, and longing in this not-yet age.

At the heart of the conversation is the loss of Jeremy and Kristen’s daughter, Sophia, who was stillborn in February 2014, and the way the Lord met them with sustaining mercies “daily.” From Kristen’s written reflections on God’s faithfulness in suffering emerged The Daily Grace Co., a ministry that has grown into a global publishing effort marked by a deliberate resistance to “Christian celebrityism” and a determination to keep the focus on Christ rather than personalities. Jeremy reflects on the importance of embodied presence in pastoral care, the need for theological clarity joined to genuine charity, and a vision for serving both individual believers and local churches with resources that are accessible, Christ-centered, and rooted in the church’s historic confession.

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