God is very interested in our happiness and flourishing. Psalm 1 talks about how and where we can find the good life and true happiness.

The world is full of chaos and complexity. As we navigate life, we need the knowledge and skill to live well. We need wisdom. The book of Proverbs was written to fill that need. In it we’ll find not only our need for wisdom but also where to find wisdom. So in this episode we’re going to talk about how to read the book of Proverbs.

When we read of the biblical commands to praise God, is this because God is egotistical or a narcissist? How should we understand the praise psalms found in the book of Psalms? In this video I talk about God's character and the real function of praise. The Bible reveals a God who is not self-absorbed but one who beautiful, loves, and serves.

Why are there four Gospels in the Bible? How do we read these together? I share two simple approaches to reading the Gospels that helps us to read them well.

Learning biblical Hebrew can be pretty hard at times, and sometimes you just need the right tools. So I want to share 3 tools for learning biblical Hebrew that for me were life saving. And I think, they may be for you too. These help with Hebrew morphology and vocabulary.

There are approximately 31,102 verses in the Bible, and yet the shortest verse is perhaps one of the most profound and beautiful though often overlooked and misunderstood. It frequently acts for us more as a piece of trivia (it even has its own Wikipedia page!). But we don’t give much thought to its meaning and significance. So in this video, I want to talk about the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, and why it really matters for us.

The book of Revelation is a hard book to understand. It’s filled with striking and vivid imagery. It’s also a book that has captured our attention more than most books in the New Testament. But with all this attention, we struggle to know how to read it and read it well. In this video, I have 4 tips for how to read Revelation well.

You want to improve your Biblical Hebrew, but you need help. These 6 books are great resources to help you level up your your Hebrew.

You want to be a better person. You want to lead a successful, productive life. But what does that even mean or look like? And how should a Christian process this conversation? Let’s talk about a Christian vision for a successful life.

At times it feels as if God is not present or is not concerned with us and our troubles. But he does care. Hebrews 2:16-18 shows the extent of his concern and care for us.

In this episode I talk about the power and problem of habit (or spiritual disciples) in regards to our spiritual lives. And then at the end I talk about some practical thoughts on how to cultivate habit.

Can we talk about prayer for a minute? In this episode I talk about “are we devoted to prayer?” With that I want to talk about our attitude toward prayer as well as some actionable steps to help us with our prayer lives.

In this episode, I talk about a verse that I think I've been misreading for years. That verse is Philippians 2:21 and it says, " For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." But what are the things of Christ Jesus? I share some thoughts that I have about this passage and new perspective on what this verse is talking about and really what are "the things of Christ."

Preachers have responsibilities in preaching Scripture. But what about the rest of us? Are we just off the hook and all the responsibility is on the preacher? In this episode, I turn the attention from the pulpit to the pew, and I discuss the ethics or listening to a sermon.

There are so many different things to pay attention to when studying the Bible, and one of the most important ones is the historical, cultural context. In this episode, we discuss what this even is, some differing approaches to it, why it’s important, and how we understand it.

In today's episode, I talk about at a simple Bible reading strategy that can pay huge dividends in unlocking Scripture. That strategy is to focus in and focus out while reading Scripture. And then we'll illustrate that by looking at one particular passage, Mark 9:14-29.

In today’s episode, I talk about some aspects of preaching that don’t get discussed enough, the ethics of preaching. And I have 5 ethical issues in mind. Keeping these things in mind will help our preaching and teaching in terms of our practice and attitude.

In this episode I review Jeannine K. Brown’s “The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John” published by Baker Academic. She teaches how to the read the Gospels as whole documents, how they were intended to be read. The approach advocated in this book unlocks so much in Scripture.

In this episode I review Rebekah Eklund’s Practicing Lament published by Cascade Books. She argues that the whole Bible is filled with laments and yet it is a genre that the church has little familiarity with. But God has given the laments of Scripture as a path forward through pain and suffering in order for him to bring healing.

In this episode, Angie Baughman, from the Steady On podcast, joins me to talk about her beautiful testimony of God’s transforming work in her life through some tragic events. Angie has so much to share and this is a wonderful conversation and was a real joy for me.