Reformed Podmatics Podcast

A perennial question in the Christian life is whether we can truly trust the Bible. With all the years that have come and gone between the original writings and now, can we really be sure the Bible hasn't just been corrupted like a long game of telephone, or twisted by this or that whim of ancient scribes? And what about those few passages or verses in the Gospels that are put in brackets and have strange footnotes about how the "earliest manuscripts" either do or don't contain them? In this week's episode, we try to take a pastoral look at how the field of study known as "textual criticism" not only doesn't challenge our trust in God's Word but actually deepens and strengthens it.

Recommended Resources for Further Study:

• Can I Really Trust the Bible?, by Barry Cooper
• How We Got the Bible, by Greg Lanier
• How God Preserved the Bible, by Richard Brash
• The Truth About the Bible and Early Christianity: Wes Huff, Michael Kruger, Daniel Wallace

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

By the Lord's grace, we've reached yet another milestone here at Reformed Podmatics: episode 200! To help us celebrate we invited back an old friend of the show, Simon Veenstra, to join in for a lively convivial conversation about what it is that continues to thrill and captivate us about the Reformed faith, and how we hope this beautiful inheritance will continue to guide our denomination in the years to come.

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

This week's episode comes from a listener question! He wrote in, wondering if many ordinary Christians may doubt whether it's really all that important to pursue progressing from spiritual milk to the solid food, thinking that maybe it's just for pastors and theology nerds to pursue deeper theological and biblical wisdom. So we take some time to think, why should lay Christians move beyond spiritual milk to solid food? We hope you're encouraged and motivated as you listen in!

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

With all that's going on in our world around us today, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. But for the believer, there is still hope available to us at all times. In this week's episode, Mark and Zac dig into three passages of Scripture that perennially remind us where true hope can be found. As you celebrate this Easter season, perhaps this may be the perfect place to start!

Mentioned by Zac: Impossible Christianity: Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean You Have to Change the World, Be an Expert in Everything, Accept Spiritual Failure, and Feel Miserable Pretty Much All the Time by Kevin DeYoung

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.

Over the last few months, many have argued that Christianity is experiencing something of a "vibe shift". Just last year, Aaron Renn published a book called Life in the Negative World, arguing that the Church was living in increasingly oppositional times in the Western world. So could it be possible that, perhaps, there is something more going on here too? And if so, what should we do about it?

***Episode note: please forgive our audio imbalance issues. We'll make sure to clear them up going forward!

For stats and analysis of the "Quiet Revival" in England and Wales, see here: https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival 

Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.

Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.