Bible in Life

Did you know that it's possible to listen to the Bible's teaching and be worse off because of it? That you can be immune to the power of God's word? That hearing the Bible can be dangerous for your soul? Jesus believed this was true, and that has a lot to do with why He taught in parables.   In this episodes we begin a series of studies on the parables of Jesus by exploring Luke 8 and what Jesus expected his parables to do.    Bible Reading Plan: Here's the link the bible reading plan I mention in the episode - https://www.johnwhittaker.net/readingplan.  __________ YouTube - I release short Bible studies every Thursday on my YouTube channel ... subscribe to those here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvGar3gboVHXDIplJW6TWQ As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  Website - If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  Free Resources: You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram Patreon: You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.    

There is one Bible story I want everyone to experience. I don't just mean read ... I mean experience. I want you to experience it. To imagine yourself being there. To feel what the townsfolk felt ... and what the Pharisee felt ... and what Jesus felt ... and what the woman felt. To put yourself in the place of various characters in the story and experience what it was to be there. To see the look on people's faces. To see the look on Jesus' face as he looks at this woman. If you've every felt like there's no way Jesus could ever love me! This story is for you. Sit with it. Soak it in. Savor it.  May this story draw you further into the love of Christ.  ______ YouTube - I release short Bible studies every Thursday on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvGar3gboVHXDIplJW6TWQ As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  Free Resources: You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram Patreon: You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

"Raising kids is is piece of cake" said no parent anywhere! Parenting well is hard work ... soul stretching work. Being a new grandpa (you need to follow me on Instagram and Facebook so you can see pics! No seriously, go check out the pics!) has me thinking about kids and parenting. So in this episode I explore a biblical view of children and how that should shape our parenting.  My Parenting Book -- For more of my thoughts on the specific strategies for raising kids click here, check out my book on parenting - preparethemtoflourish.com As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  Free Resources: You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram Patreon: You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.    

In Philippians 3:20, the apostle Paul says that we are "citizens of heaven," and I think most modern Christians misunderstand what he means. We think he means that we've got our ticket and we're going to heaven when we die. While it may be true that Christians go to heaven when we die (although that isn't our final hope, by the way), that's not what Paul means by describing us as "citizens of heaven." What he means has a lot to do with the culture and situation of the Christians in Philippi, and that's what we explore in this episode.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help create an audio commentary on the New Testament.    

Be good. I grew up thinking being good referred to my morality. But in the Bible goodness is less about morality and more about our interactions with others.  Goodness is something we show to people and give to people.  In this podcast we explore Galatians 6:7-10 and consider just how important doing good actually is ... and how long we should do it for.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.    

In this episode of the Bible in Life, John chats with Aaron Couch of Real Life Ministries about reading the Bible in context. Aaron is a preacher and pastor and has led a number of tours to the Holy Lands. John talks with Aaron about his experience in Israel and this significance of the Jewish background to the Gospels and to Jesus.  Aaron hosts a podcast called A Better Conversation and you can find that here: https://liferotp.com/abetterconversation.  You can follow Aaron on Istagram @kelsguy1113.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email.  You can support John's podcast for as little as $5 per month on his Patreon page by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

You go to church pretty regularly. And Bible study too.  You read your Bible sometimes. You actually know the Bible pretty good. You even have passages in your Bible highlighted! Warning - that could be just enough to trick you into thinking you're a real disciple! And if that's the case, there's a good chance you might get disappointed - maybe even disappointed with God - when your life seems like more of a wreck than you think it should be.  That's because when it comes to following Jesus, learning and knowing the Bible is not enough. There's one really important thing we all must do if we want to be a disciple of Jesus and have a solid life. And that one thing is what Jesus tells us in this final paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount. ___ If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email - and make it easy for other people to find it! Do you want to help support John’s podcast financially? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Jesus continues his final appeals at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, this time warning about pretenders who would lead genuine followers away from the narrow road. Such pretenders look good ... they look like genuine followers of Christ and they can perform impressive religious deeds; but they're fake. We have to be honest: not everyone who looks spiritual or religious is a sincere disciple of Jesus. Not everyone whose bible is marked up or who preaches powerful sermons really knows Christ.  How do you recognize pretenders?  Jesus says you recognize them by their fruit. And in this episode we explore what that means for us.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email.  Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Choices.  We all have them. Everyday we make them. Most of our choices are small. A few are big. But all have them shape who we become. The small choice of what food to eat shapes our health. The small choice of how to start our day affects our mindset and forms our character.  Choices matter. In this episode we reflect on Matthew 7:13-14 where Jesus uses the imagery of a gate and a road to present us with a choice: How will we choose to respond to Him and his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount? What road/way of life will we choose? If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email.  Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Was Jesus really born in a barn? Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem? Were Joseph and Mary all alone at Jesus' birth? All of us bring assumptions and pre-understanding to our reading of Scripture and that is certainly true when it comes to the common (western) understanding of the Christmas story. The goal is not to pretend like we don't have such assumptions but to acknowledge them and try to inform and clear them up with solid research. In this episode I compare some of our common traditional understanding about the nativity story with Luke 2 in its cultural context. And then I consider why it matters.  If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started.  Connect with me on facebook and instagram As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email.  Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.