Proverbs 9:10 says, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  What is the fear of the Lord? And how is it the beginning of wisdom? That's the question we explore in this episode.    Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Note: this episode was originally released on 6/15/23 but due to a tech issue never distributed to any podcast apps.   Proverbs are part of the Bible that is often called “Wisdom literature.” Several Bible books are grouped into this category... Proverbs Ecclesiastes Job Song of Solomon Wisdom literature seeks to describe what is usually true in day-to-day living...it offers "wisdom" for right living and right choices.  It teaches “the skill of living” (Tremper Longman). Now here’s the thing… this is really important; it’s crucial. Biblical wisdom is grounded in creation. t means it grounded in the way creation is designed to operate, and that means it's good for us.  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  

The book of Proverbs.  Many Christians love it and read it regularly. Some read a chapter day every month.  But... What is a proverb? And what is it not? That is, How do you read Proverbs wisely?   In this episode, we begin a short study of Proverbs to help us gain wisdom from them and use the Proverbs wisely.  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Matthew Bates is a theology professor at Quincy University. He's written extensively on the nature of faith as allegiance and the gospel. His latest book is titled Why the Gospel? and it's a helpful study of what motivated the gospel. Matt is also a family man with seven kids (!) ranging in age from 17-5.  In this conversation we explore some of the confusion around what the gospel actually is and why that matters.  To learn more about and order Matt's books visit http://matthewwbates.com   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Life is marked by uncertainty. And uncertainty often leads to distress.  Not knowing what to do, not knowing what’s going to happen, not knowing what other people are thinking and feeling—these situations are ripe to breed anxiety in anyone. Ultimately there’s no escape from living with uncertainty, for anyone.  But there is a way to have peace in the midst of uncertainty. And Paul shows us that in Philippians 4:4-9.  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Values.  Custom. Ambitions.  Practices. Every culture has them.  Where do you get yours? Your way of life/being/acting displays the values of the culture you belong to. As followers of King Jesus, we are citizens of heaven and heaven's culture must shape our way of life as we live in the midst of the culture around us.  Phiippians 3:20 says, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  

What do you really want in life? What do you want so much that it would be worth giving up whatever is necessary for you to get? In Philippians 3, Paul uses his example to show us that Christ is the supreme treasure that is worth forsaking all other treasures in order to acquire. Everything in our life is like trash compared to gaining Christ.  Everything we think is valuable is nothing compared to Christ.  The greatest thing in the universe is to gain and know Christ. Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Peace and harmony with your fellow Christians is God’s will, and that means it’s also your responsibility. If God’s wants it, then we have to want it … and want it enough to work at it.  So how do we do it? In Philippians 2:3-8, Paul gives what I believe is the single most important bit of relational advice you’ll ever get for having harmony in your relationships. Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Philippians 1:12-21 In this passage Paul models for us what it would it look like to measure our circumstances in light of the gospel. So often our answer to the question “how are you doing?” has to do with whether our circumstances are positive or negative. But what would it look like for us to put the wellbeing of the gospel first? What if we lived our life for the sake of the gospel?    Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Is the KJV the best Bible translation? This question is so important because unfortunately there is a contingent of people who keep spreading falsehoods about the KJV versus the newer translations. So... Is there an "inspired" translation?  Why are there some differences between the KJV and other versions?  And how do Bible translations work?  Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with John: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.