Deeper Christian Podcast

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 140Merry Christmas!In this special Christmas edition of the Deeper Christian Podcast, we look at the "sign" that the angel gives the shepherds of Christ's coming. This sign is profound not only for the Christmas season but the fact that it points to the Cross and reason for why Jesus came – the sacrifice of Himself upon the cross for the sins of the world.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/140/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 139While Christmas is the season we celebrate the birth of one King, we often fail to remember another king that plays a significant role in the birth of Jesus Christ. In this special Christmas edition of the Deeper Christian Podcast, we look at the contrast of these two kings – King Jesus and Herod the Great – and knowing the difference between the two will deepen your understanding of the significance of the birth of Christ in the setting in which it happened.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/139/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 138Looking at the culture today, it appears that sin is "all-powerful." It has the world (even some of the church) in its grip. Sin comes a-knocking and we soon find ourselves giving in.But Scripture is clear that sin has nothing on holiness. Holiness is not a drab, a list of do's and don'ts; it's not a have-to, it's a get-to! The Bible reveals that holiness is always a positive thing.Rather than be pushed around by sin, live from the reality of God's holiness in your live via the HOLY Spirit.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/138/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 137Though for us here in America, Thanksgiving is a time we celebrate each year where we take time out to fellowship, enjoy good food, and be grateful for what we have.But as Christians, thanksgiving is not merely a holiday we celebrate once a year, rather its a lifestyle we live, communicate, and should be known for. Such a life of thanksgiving is not based on circumstances, emotions, or a day of the week – it is to be the everyday "normal" of the Christian life.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/137/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 136God abounds in mercy, love, kindness, faithfulness, and goodness. This word in the Hebrew is "Hesed" and showcases the grandeur and greatness of our God's character and nature. Rich in meaning, this word (Hesed) is hard to translate yet best understood as "when the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything."And our God, who abounds in Hesed, whose Hesed endures forever – wants to fill our lives via His Spirit and produce Hesed in and through us.In this episode, we discuss the Hebrew word Hesed and how God's goodness, mercy, faithfulness, and lovingkindness endures forever!»» Interested in winning a copy of Michael Card's book on Hesed (Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God's Lovingkindness)? I'm giving away several copies in the Deeper Christian monthly book giveaway. Enter to win a free copy (winners announced the end of November).Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/136/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 135We live in a world where the profane has become prolific and that which is twisted and perverse is celebrated and indulged in.But as Christians, we are not called to live from a place of lust (what I can get for myself) but from a place of love (what I can give). Believers are called to purity, holiness, and righteousness – no matter how dark and polluted the world around them becomes.In Ephesians 5, Paul exhorts the early church to walk in love (the Kingdom of light – the Kingdom of Jesus Christ) rather than walk in lust (the Kindgom of darkness). In this episode, we explore Paul's exhortation to Christians in Ephesians 5 and are pressed to answer the question – from which kingdom am I living … the place of love or the perverseness of lust?Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/135/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 134Repentance is one of those terms that most modern churches have moved away from.It sounds harsh, condemning, and intrusive. But repentance was the message of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the disciples. It is not something you tack onto a gospel track or do once and presume you're done repenting. As Christians, we should be living a life of repentance … and proclaiming the need to repent to the world!In this episode, Nathan Johnson gives a brief overview of repentance and then plays a sermon by Vance Havner entitled "A Call to Repentance." This message was given by Havner at Founders Week at Moody Bible Institute years ago and exhorts believers to come before the cross of Christ with a heart of repentance.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/134/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 133Knowing that God is faithful becomes a foundation, a bedrock, for our faith.In order to trust and put our hope and faith in Christ, we must know that He is unchanging and that He is constant, steadfast, unmovable, resolute, and sure – in short, we need to know He is faithful.And once we know and remember that our God is faithful, then how we live as Christians will change for it can be built upon the One who does not change.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/133/

 Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 132We all want to know the Bible better … but how can we study it so that it goes from plain text on the page (an academic study) to something that is alive and we experience it in living color?In this episode of the Deeper Christian Podcast, Nathan Johnson talks about the importance of context and gives two ideas for how you can better understand the geographical context of Scripture … and in so doing, experience the Word in living color.Learn more about the upcoming Deeper Christian Bible Study Tour in Israel.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/132/

Deeper Christian Podcast • Episode 131Looking around modern Christianity, it appears more and more believers are engrossed with darkness or are allowing shadows of sin to invade their hearts.Yet Scripture makes it clear that while we may be in the world, we are not to be of the world.  If you've ever found yourself in a room while the sun is setting, you've probably noticed that our eyes adjust to the dimming light and soon find ourselves sitting in shadows. Without intentionally realizing it, we've found ourselves in the dark.So too, our soul can allow shadows of sin (or full out darkness of perverseness) and we can easily justify why its there, for the downward slope was gradual and marked by small decisions of compromise.But God has freed us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His dear Son – the One Who is light itself!In this episode, we examine this concept and are exhorted to not allow any shadows of darkness within our lives but rather to freshly allow the Spirit of God to examine and convict any area so we can walk in the light and behave differently than the world. Yes, we are in the world, but the world is not to be within us.Download the shownotes for this episode and get other Christ-centered teaching and resources at: deeperChristian.com/131/