Theology For The Rest Of Us | Quick Answers To The Questions About God And The Bible

Occasionally, in life, we experience something that is simply so good, and so profoundly in our favor, that we feel like the thing might be too good! Or, when we sense that something is too good, we may begin to suspect that it isn't actually true. That's where the old adage comes in: "If it's simply too good to be true, it probably isn't." Well, is this the case with the Gospel? In this episode, Kenny interviews pastor and author Ricky Jones about his new book, wherein Ricky talks extensively about this idea of the Gospel being too good to be true. The book is rightly entitled, Too Good to Be True. Check Out the "Too Good to Be True" Facebook Page Get a Copy of the Book on Amazon Follow Ricky Jones on Twitter: @revrickydean Connect with Ricky Jones on Facebook Check out Ricky Jones' Sermons on www.sermonaudio.com

Traditionally speaking, the role of elder/pastor has been filled by men. But over the last 100-150 years, there has been a movement to allow women to fill the role of elder/pastor within Evangelical churches. With that comes the question as to what type of speaking and preaching women should be allowed to do within the church. That begs the question: Should women be allowed to preach? If not, why not? If yes, how should that play out in our contemporary church context? In 1 Timothy 2, the Apostle Paul clearly outlines a form of preaching that ought not be made available for women, however in 1 Corinthians 11 there is a form of public speaking and "prophecy" that women are invited to do, and it seems that women are even expected to speak and lead the congregation in prayer at times. In this episode, Kenny dives into this topic, highlighting the important elements of 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2, and also giving some modern examples as to how this ought to be executed well by church leaders within our mo

Quite often whenever the topic of women in ministry comes up, defenders of the egalitarian position mention the Old Testament judge Deborah. Some people believe that God's allowance of a female judge in the Old Testament means that women should be invited into ministry leadership positions with no restrictions whatsoever. Is this true? In this episode, Kenny elaborates upon the story from the Book of Judges and highlights the lessons we can learn from the life of Deborah.

It has been a typical practice in North America for women to change their last name when they get married. Is this a Biblical practice? If not, would it be wrong if a woman doesn't change her name? In this episode, Kenny dives into answering this question by pointing out the opportunity women have to demonstrate their own loyalties to their husband and their marriage covenant.

There has been a relatively recent phenomenon within modern church movements to open the office of elder/pastor to women. While this was not the historical norm of churches, it has become acceptable in many churches over the past century. So, is this Biblical? Is God okay with women being pastors? Or should churches embrace the traditional view of the office of elder and role of pastor where the role was reserved for men only? In this episode, Kenny dives into this potentially controversial topic. Kenny reviews the last several episodes of the podcast, reiterating the complementarian perspective, and then dives into answering this question by highlighting verses from the letter written by the Apostle Paul to his protege Timothy. Highlighted Verses 1 Timothy 2:11-14 Genesis 1 & 2 Recommended The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God's Good Design (by Courtney Reissig) Men and Women, Equal Yet Different (by Alexander Strauch) Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood (by Wayne Grudem,

Egalitarianism is a thought within the world of philosophy that promotes precise equality among all people. But in Christian theology, the term egalitarianism typically refers to the concept that both males and females ought to be treated precisely the same and viewed the same, that men and women should not be assigned roles based upon their gender (but only upon their individual skill sets), and that all positions of church leadership within the local church should be open to both men and women. In this episode, Kenny explains the modern "Christian egalitarian" perspective, specifically contrasting it with the traditional complementarian perspective. Kenny articulates why he disagrees with the egalitarian position that has become popular amongst many modern Evangelicals. Additional Reading Is Galatians 3:28 An Egalitarian Text? Recommended Books The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God's Good Design (by Courtney Reissig) Men and Women, Equal Yet Different (by Alexander Strauch) The Meanin

Many Evangelical Christians have allowed modern movements to influence their ways of thinking, and even compromise their ability to stick to Biblical values. One such modern movement that has influenced Christians is the modern feminist movement. In this episode, Kenny interviews author Courtney Reissig about God's perfect design of the genders and the roles each gender ought to serve in terms of how the genders ought to interact and work together. Courtney talks about how so many believers have allowed the feminist movement to influence their thinking when it comes to the topic of gender roles, instead of allowing the Scriptures to govern and inform their thinking in this arena. This has resulted in many Christians accidentally becoming feminists. In the interview, Courtney clearly defines Biblical complementarianism and elaborates upon how that plays out in the church and in the home. Courtney also talks about what forms of female leadership and speaking are appropriate, and which forms are not appropria

Complementarianism is the idea that men and women have different complementary roles within marriage and church leadership. In this episode, Kenny explains the concept and how it ought to play out. Recommended The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God's Good Design (by Courtney Reissig) Men and Women, Equal Yet Different (by Alexander Strauch) The Meaning of Marriage (by Timothy Keller) Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood (by Wayne Grudem, Bruce Ware, John Piper) What's the Difference?: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible (by John Piper)

The Apostle Matthew records some interesting words for us, words that came from the mouth of Jesus praising his cousin and fellow rabbi John the Baptist. "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11). In response to these words, Kenny received an email question from a listeners asking why Jesus gave such high praise to John the Baptist. In this episode, Kenny answers this question, explaining John the Baptist's role in the ministry of Jesus, and giving us insight into how this applies to believers today.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah declared that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and that He would be called "Immanuel" (see Isaiah 7:14). So with that in mind, why did Mary name her son "Jesus" instead of giving Him the name "Immanuel"? In this episode, Kenny answers this question, and makes clear the meaning of the name Immanuel and its overall significance.

  In this episode, Kenny interviews web developer, writer, blogger, and podcaster Josh Armstrong about being intentionally and purposefully culturally relevant and the importance of avoiding just being "casually religious" in our modern contexts. Josh and Kenny also talk about the importance of every Christian seeing themselves as "missionaries" in their own cultural context, no matter where in the world they live. Recommended Check out Project Faith Journey Follow Josh on Twitter: @pfaithjourney Church Leaders Podcast Tony Morgan Live Radical (by David Platt)

In Genesis, there is a group called the Nephilim. There has been much speculation as to who this group was. Many evangelicals believe that this group were the offspring of fallen angels whom had sexual relations with human women. But is this what the Scripture says? In this episode, Kenny interviews author, apologist, podcaster, and philosopher Tyler Vela to talk about the Nephilim and what the Holy Spirit is actually teaching us when we read through a passage like Genesis. Tyler Vela studied Philosophy and English at California State University, Sonoma. He also earned a Bachelors degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Moody Bible Institute. Currently, Tyler is working towards a Masters of Biblical Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). Tyler is the host of The Freed Thinker Podcast and blog and is a frequent guest on many Christian and skeptical podcasts and forums. Recommended Subscribe to The Freed Thinker Podcast: www.thefreedthinker.podbean.com Check out Dr. Preston Sprinkle

In this episode, our host Kenny interviews theologian and leadership expert Kenneth Freire about the primary differences between spiritual gifts and natural talents. We all have strengths and abilities, but Freire says that understanding which category your strengths fall into will be key in helping you figure out your life's callings. Kenneth Freire has a Bachelors degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University and an M.Div. from Regent University. He has more than eight years of experience with leadership development, having trained over 500 men and women in leadership and theology. Kenneth Freire currently serves as a part of the ministry leadership team at Bethany Global University in Minneapolis, MN where he serves as a professor as well as serving as one of the Directors of their Lead Internship gap-year program. Read Kenneth Friere's Blog: www.kenfreire.com Follow Kenneth on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kenneth.freire Check out the Lead Internship: www.leadintern.com  

In this episode, Kenny interviews author and broadcaster Erik Guzman about his new book "The Seed" and they dive into a great discussion about a variety of matters related to "messy spirituality" and the Gospel. This interview is one of the most unique interviews that our podcast has produced. Erik is super funny, transparent, raw, and encouraging. Erik Guzman has worked with the well-known author and broadcaster Steve Brown for over 18 years. Erik is VP of Communications & Executive Producer at Key Life Network. Erik is co-host of the nationally syndicated talk show Steve Brown, Etc. and Erick is also the announcer for Key Life. Erik has a Bachelors in Mass Communication and an MBA. Erik is also perpetually working toward a Masters in Theological Studies. Get a Copy of Erik's book: "The Seed: A True Myth"  

On every major issue, doctrine, or point of theology, there are a variety of views and perspectives. Even within Protestantism there are many differing opinions and conclusions. In episode 101, Kenny discussed whether or not every area of theology and doctrine were of equal importance; making the point that some genres of theology are more important than others. In that particular episode, Kenny explains that he holds to a concept of "open-hand" issues versus "closed-hand" issues; in essence, we embrace the simple idea that some Christian doctrines are essential and extremely important, while some others are not as important and there can be room for disagreement among faithful believers in those areas. In response to that episode, Kenny received an e-mail from a regular listener asking how we determine what are the closed-hand issues and what are the open-hand issues? Basically, how do we determine the importance of a topic? In this episode, Kenny tackles that topic, explaining the history of how Evangelic

The Jews in the first century were meticulous record keepers, in particular with genealogies. The primary reason this was important was because they were awaiting their Messiah, whom they believed would be a descendant of King David. When we look through the Gospels of the New Testament, we see two different genealogies for Jesus. In this episode, Kenny explains why there are two different genealogies. The first is recorded in Matthew's Gospel. He wrote to the Jewish people to highlight Jesus' legal and judicial claim to the throne of David, so they would have been concerned with Jesus being the legal heir. The second genealogy we see in the New Testament was written by Luke, recorded in his Gospel, but written to show Jesus' biological relation to King David, as he wrote to a Roman Gentile audience that would not have cared about the Jewish throne nearly as much.  

Addiction is a very sensitive topic that impacts the lives of many people. People can find themselves being addicted to drugs, sex, alcohol, tobacco, food, gambling, compulsive spending, approval, attention, adrenaline, and many more. In this episode, Kenny talks about addictions, and whether or not God can heal them. Kenny makes clear that addiction has strong power of how we make decisions, addictions are always rooted in some idol or some form of sin in our lives, but God's grace and power can deliver us from any addiction. Recommended Redemption (by Mike Wilkerson) Recovering Redemption (by Matt Chandler) Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction (by Mark Laaser) Addictions (by Edward Welch) How People Change (by Timothy S. Lane & Paul David Tripp) Life Together (by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Each person who puts their faith in Christ will spend eternity with Him; basking in the love, joy, and peace of God forever. For all of eternity we shall sing His praises and delight in His glory. But each person who has trusted Christ surely has at least one person they love (likely many than just one), whom have not trusted in Christ and therefore shall be thrown into the "lake of fire" often called hell. How is it possible that we will be so happy and so joyful in heaven while we know that some of our loved ones would have been thrown into hell? This is a great question and a very sobering topic. In this episode, Kenny answers this question by reminding us that when we get to heaven the joy and glory that we experience will be far greater than anything we can even comprehend. The problem with these types of questions is that we view our future in heaven in the same way we view our lives here on planet Earth, and that is flaw. Kenny ends this episode with a reminder of the urgency that we ought to have w

In this episode, Kenny interviews author and international speaker Ajith Fernando about the importance of Christian leaders having a healthy family life. Anyone involved in Christian ministry knows how challenging it is to balance ministry and family responsibilities, but it is essential that we master this balance. Mr. Fernando provides us with a healthy and God-centered understanding of family that can help us cultivate to a flourishing home. Mr. Fernando was the National Director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka for more than 35 years; today serves as their Teaching Director. He has also traveled extensively worldwide training and counseling leaders within the Youth for Christ movement. Mr. Fernando has written 16 books and many more booklets and articles, published in 20 different languages worldwide. Get a Copy of Ajith Fernando's Newest Book: The Family Life of a Christian Leader Follow Ajith Fernando and Check out his Resources: www.ajithfernando.com

The Sabbath was an essential part of the life, culture, and worship for the Hebrew people throughout the pages of the Old Testament; and still remains an essential part of the culture of Israel today. God mandated that the Hebrew people observe this "once a week" day of rest and reflection; it started Friday evening at sunset and would last for approximately 24 hours, until sunset Saturday evening. Does this mandate still apply to Christians today? Should Christians observe this? And if so, on what day should we observe this? In this episode, Kenny explains what the Sabbath was in the Old Testament and why God instituted it in the first place. When we understand the purposes for this institution, then it makes more sense how to apply it to our lives today. The mandate of observing the Sabbath does not apply to Christians today, but the purposes and disciplines related to and associated with the Sabbath are helpful to our lives, our spiritual health, and our relationships, therefore we ought to practice Sab