The Analytical Preacher - Bible Discussions For The Modern World

The most important questions we must answer in life are "is there a God and can I know Him?"  A number of ways to answer that main question have been employed.  For example, the Greek philosophers used deductive logic to prove the need for an Uncaused Cause or Prime Mover.  The empirically based inductive reasoning of modern science has concluded that an infinite and eternal multiverse is necessary to explain what we see ...

Anyone who has ever addressed a serious habit or addiction knows how difficult they can be to overcome.  As Christians, we must provide dedicated, prayerful support to those who are working through such struggles.  But in order to successfully address and conquer most habits and addictions, one needs to take a two-pronged approach.  We must address why we were driven to the habit in the first place - which is almost always because ...

Evangelical Christians know that all people are sinners and every political party has (major) faults.  Though we must cast our vote for a single individual in each election, we understand that all politicians are imperfect.  But Evangelical Christians do tend to associate more with the Republican party and many people have asked why, especially since much of the Democrat's platform (assisting the most vulnerable in society, fo...

Many atheist claim the problem of teleological suffering and evil is a slam dunk against the existence of a loving God.  If an animal unintentionally evolved to where it must infect, eat the eyes of or kill a human host to reproduce, then that is just part of the world we have to live with.  But if a "god" intentionally created such parasites and the suffering they cause, he either isn't much of a god or certainly is...

It is often said that guilt and shame are bad emotions that serve no purpose and, therefore, those experiencing such feelings should work through them (with help when necessary) to eliminate them from their lives.  Shame, built off of the feelings of general, personal worthlessness and compounded by embarrassment and rejection are in fact bad.  We are all made in God's image and all loved by our Creator.  Guilt over a specific...

Was the purpose for the miracles Christ performed simply to help out a few folks in need 2000 years ago?  As we read scripture and see how it defines those acts - which are usually called signs in the New Testament - we get a fuller picture of what was going on.  Though individuals certainly benefited from the miracles Jesus performed on and around them, each of those signs points to a number of other important elements as well, in...

Do Christians need to go to church?  Can believers worship God alone and grow in their faith without formal religion?  Does the Bible directly tell us to go to church?  Many believers have a standard set of arguments they employ when challenged about their church attendance but are those arguments Bible based or opinion based?  Are our reasons for not attending church logical and consistent or more reactionary and emotional?  In th...

If Jesus had to die to pay the sin debt of humanity, then how were people saved before Jesus came to earth and died on the cross?  For example, how were people in the Old Testament saved, how could they go to heaven if not through Jesus?  In Genesis, God told Abraham that his faith had been counted to him as righteousness. What does that mean?  In what did Abraham have faith?  And how did that faith save him? God explains this myst...

How should I act as a Christian? How do I grow as a Christian?  To mature in our faith we must do more than read our Bible and stop lying and cussing.  A maturing Christian will also seek out ways to both serve others and encourage others.  But what does the Bible mean when it instructs us to encourage one another and build each other up?  In this podcast, we look at some straight forward yet very simple ways that we can be an enco...