Doable Discipleship

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” Romans 8:31-34N.T. Wright has called Romans “arguably one of the most extraordinary letters ever written by anyone” and I imagine most people would agree. Romans is the heavyweight of the New Testament - a beautiful and profound look at the gospel message of Christ wrapped up in one letter. From explaining the good news and teaching about God’s anger at sin, to highlighting God’s faithfulness and the centrality of the cross to focusing on righteousness and life in the spirit. From “for the wages of sin is death but

“So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’ He replied, ‘The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” - Acts 1:6-8There is a lot going on in the book of Acts. Picking up pretty much where the Gospel of Luke left off, Acts follows Jesus commissioning the disciples right before his ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and then the birth of the church. It’s a book about mission - the mission to spread the good news of Jesus. It’s a book about diversity - the opening of the message to gentiles and the travels set forth by the apostles as they bring the message of Jesus to the world. It’s a book about power - not power as we may think about it but spir

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” - John 1:1-5The Gospel According to John has held a unique place in Christian heritage. Known as the Spiritual Gospel, its messages, themes, and depiction of Jesus paint a beautifully rich picture of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew showed Jesus as Teacher, Mark should Jesus in action, Luke should Jesus as storyteller, and our guest today will explain how John shows Jesus as provocateur - yes you’ll hear a big laugh from me when he chooses this as the picture. John contains many well-known verses and chapters of the Bible, perhaps none more so than John 3:16 - “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who b

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” - Luke 6:27-31The Gospel of Luke is a journey chronicling the earthly life of Jesus. It paints a pretty full picture of Jesus’ ministry while paying particular attention to the stories or parables that Jesus would tell. If Mark is the action Gospel, Luke is the story Gospel. The stories from Jesus you know and love are found in this Gospel, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and so on. But even through all of these stories and all of the movement that Jesus undertakes in this Gospel, Luke continues to put the focus on who - the storyteller, the traveler, Jesus the Messiah. To help us navigate the Gospe

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” - Mark 8:34-35The Gospel of Mark reads like a propulsive novel or like an action movie. It even starts nearly right in the middle of the action, skipping the story of Jesus’ birth entirely. More than in the other gospels, in Mark Jesus is always on the move. The shortest of the Gospels coming in at 16 chapters, it’s a book of momentum but, in my opinion, there’s a reason for that. While in other Gospels you get long sermons from Jesus, this Gospel presents a focus on seeing Jesus through how he acted and interacted with others. And not all of those interactions go the way we would assume Jesus would handle them. To help us navigate the Gospel of Mark is Dr. Mark Strauss, University Professor of New Testament Emeritus at Bethel University, Vice Chair of

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” - Matthew 5:3-10The Gospel According to Matthew kicks off the New Testament. It chronicles the life of Jesus of Nazareth, from his birth, to his teachings, to his death and resurrection. Each of the four Gospels work together to paint a picture of Jesus, and Matthew’s Gospel shows us Jesus as Teacher. This book is filled with the teachings of Jesus focusing on what relationship with God is really like and

As we look forward to diving into the New Testament together, we must acknowledge a kind of elephant in the room. Between Malachi, the end of the Old Testament, and the events starting the New Testament there is a 400-year gap. Sometimes referred to as “The Silent Period,” the Intertestamental Period is an important era to explore as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments because as my guest today will unpack, God was doing some serious work during this time. That guest today is Tom Holladay, former Teaching Pastor at Saddleback Church, host of the Drivetime Devotions podcast, and multiple-time guest on this podcast. In this conversation, Tom will help us see some of the ways God was at work during the Intertestamental Period that sets the stage for what was going to unfold in the New Testament and beyond. And in classic Tom fashion, he takes a very pastoral approach to how the intertestamental period can inspire how we live out our faith today.  Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produce

As a part of the Navigating the Bible series, one of the questions I always ask is “what does this book teach us about God.” The answer is almost always: a lot. The Old Testament is an invitation to look at the biggest question of the universe: who. That’s right, it’s not why - it’s who. As we read and study Scripture, we learn that the who is God - and he exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As I was thinking about how to put a bow on our time navigating through the Old Testament, I thought about a trilogy of books by Dr. Christopher Wright: Knowing God the Father through the Old Testament, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, and Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the Old Testament. These three are now presented in a single volume called Knowing God Through the Old Testament and I thought, what a perfect way to capstone this series by focusing on how we can know God through the Old Testament. So my guest today is Dr. Christopher Wright, International Ministries Director for the Lan

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” - Malachi 3:16-18The book of Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament, is incredibly special. Yes, all books of the Bible are special, but after this conversation I will say Malachi now has a special place in my heart. Only four chapters, so quite a bit different than Zechariah, Malachi is a book focused on relationship between God and his people. It’s a book about his love. It’s a book about our sin. It’s a book that should bring up a lot of self-refle

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey - riding on a donkey’s colt.” - Zechariah 9:9In my opinion, Zechariah is a diamond of a book. It has so many facets, so many ways to approach it and points of emphasis and things to teach. Last week we talked about Haggai and Zechariah is a partner book - we are still in the post-exilic period talking about rebuilding the temple. But Zechariah covers a lot of ground. It talks about returning to the Lord. There are chapters of visions we haven’t really seen the like of since Daniel and Ezekiel. There are calls to justice and mercy, promises of blessings and a beautiful look ahead to the coming Messiah and the second advent still to come. As I said, this is an incredibly rich, multifaceted book. To help us navigate it is Dr. Andrew Hill, Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Wheaton College and author of a commentary on Zechariah. Doable Dis

“Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ‘Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes.’” - Haggai 1:3-6The book of Haggai is a bit of a jump back to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and refocuses in on the temple. At its heart, this is a book about priorities. As the passage I just read says, “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?” God is using the prophet Haggai to call out hypocrisy, to call out wayward hearts but lo and behold, what happens? The people listen and we get to see God’s response to their obedience. Haggai is not the longest book by any means, but there’s a lot in it to unpack. To help us navigate the book of Haggai is

What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime! No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God. Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey. Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions. But the Lord is still there in the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day he hands down justice, and he does not fail. - Zephaniah 3:1-5The book of Zephaniah, while being another in the line of prophets sharing God’s message of judgment and repentance, deserves more time and attention than what we tend to give it. Only three chapters long, God’s message through Zephaniah is a direct yet beautiful encapsulation of the themes we’ve seen so often in the prophets. It’s a book about humility and unity. It’s a book about repentance and turning heart

“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation - a god that can’t even talk! What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.” - Habakkuk 2:18-20The book of Habakkuk is quite unlike any others in the canon of the prophets. Instead of the book being a message that God has given a prophet to share with a nation, Habakkuk is a conversation between Habakkuk and God. The book is structured: “Habakkuk’s first complaint”, “The Lord’s Reply.” “Habakkuk’s second complaint”, “The Lord’s Second Reply”, “Habakkuk’s Prayer.” The themes in this book are not unlike the themes from other prophet books, but the way in which they are explored is very different and what this book teaches us about how we

“The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies! The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.” - Nahum 1:2-3The book of Nahum, the 34th book of the Old Testament, is somewhat a companion to Jonah. When we read Jonah, we saw God send Jonah to Nineveh to repent of their ways and, what do you know, they did! Well Nahum picks up a little while later and we see Nineveh has gone back to their old ways and Nahum is now foretelling God's judgment on Assyria and its capitol, Nineveh. Nahum isn’t long, it’s only three chapters, so you may be wondering, “How on earth is this episode on Nahum an hour and twenty minutes long?” Don’t let Nahum’s length fool you - it is an incredibly rich portrait of who God is and, specifically, his relationship to evil. To help us navigate the book of Nahum is Dr. Thomas Renz, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Oak Hill Theological Colleg

“Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.” Micah 7:18The book of Micah may not be the most well-known of the Old Testament, but it has some of the most well-known verses and passages. Micah takes on the same challenge as many of the other prophets - sharing God’s message of both judgment and hope. What makes this book unique, however, is the pointedness of his message. He calls out wealthy oppressors and false prophets. He calls out corrupt leaders and how the corruption of the leaders has infected the citizens. His judgment is pointed, but so is his message of restoration and hope. The famous passage from Micah 6:8 says, “The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”  Micah has a message that continues to resonate today, and to help us navigate th

“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, ‘I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, “O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.”’” Jonah 2:1-4The book of Jonah is without a doubt the most known book of the prophets and perhaps one of the most well known of the Old Testament. That is to say, most of the story is well known. From the earliest ages the story of Jonah and the fish or Jonah and the whale is taught in church classrooms around the world. But usually that story ends in chapter 2 . . . but there are still two more chapters to the book of Jonah and, you know what, the conversation today spends most of its time in chapter 4. To help us navigate the book of Jonah is

“The Lord says to Edom, ‘I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. “Who can ever reach us way up here?” you ask boastfully. But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,’ says the Lord.” - Obadiah 1:2-4Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament. Standing at one chapter, 21 verses, it’s a quick yet pointed announcement of judgment against the land of Edom. While the book is short, it didn’t stop my guest and me from talking about it for nearly 45 minutes. Obadiah has a lot to teach us on what God is judging Edom about, while also warning us what to be on the lookout for in our own lives. It’s a book about the results of pride, violence, and apathy. To help us navigate the book of Obadiah is Dr. Paul Raabe, Professor Emeritus of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, author of a commentar

“Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.” - Amos 5:14-15The book of Amos has a bit of a reputation. It’s not known for being the most fun of the minor prophets. It doesn’t pop up in many sermons, you don’t see many Bible studies focused on it. There are many reasons why this is the case. Amos is a harsh book - he doesn’t hold back on what he has to say. In chapter 8 it says, “The Lord said, ‘Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. In that day the singing in the Temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence.’” Again . . . not the most fun read. However, the true heart of the book of Amos is an incredibly important message

We’ve been walking through this series on Navigating the Bible we're currently neck deep in talking about the Prophets. These books can be extraordinarily beautiful, but they can also be confusing and hard to read. As a brief pause in our series, I thought today might be good to rewind a conversation I had last year with Dr. John Walton about the prophets as a whole. Dr. Walton is professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Wheaton College and author of around 32 books including The Lost World of the Prophets. Dr. Walton was also our guest to help us navigate the book of Job. In this rewind, Dr. Walton and I talk about what we need to know about how prophets were thought of in the days of the Bible, the through-line of the covenant, the difference between interpretation and fulfillment, and so much more. If you ever needed or wanted a primer on how to navigate the prophets, this conversation is for you.Originally Released February 20, 2024Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Ja

“The church is a multiethnic and multicultural assembly of believers spanning history that God has called into fellowship with Christ and with one another. We gather regularly to consider the teachings of the Bible and to orient our lives around God’s coming kingdom. Together we wait for God to make all things new, and we bear witness to the world of what God has already done.” - Becoming God’s FamilyWhat is the purpose of the church? If you talked with different people you’d likely get different answers. You might hear that it’s a place to worship God. You might hear that it’s just a place people go to feel better about their lives. There’s a broader conversation happening about whether or not the church still matters. Even amongst Christians, there’s a question over why they need to go to church when they can just believe in Jesus and read the Bible on their own. Today’s episode is all about the church and the importance of with-ness. My guest today is Dr. Carmen Joy Imes, associate professor of Old Testame