Farther Along

#20 - God Created Everything - Patrick Swayne

Today’s episode comes from Alaska where my friend Patrick Swayne preaches. Patrick takes us all the way back to the beginning and focuses on the first lesson the Bible brings to our attention on its very first page. God made everything. While we may accept this reality, the truth of this claim is often questioned and we often turn to the study of Christian Apologetics to defend it. This is vitally important, but let’s not miss the Bible’s claims about our Creator God and his authority over this world and every one of our lives.  Patrick is also a staff writer with Truth for the World. Check out theirwebsite [https://truthfortheworld.org] in the show notes for great biblical material in the form of blog posts, videos, articles, podcasts and other media pointing us back to our Bibles.  ———— As mentioned in the intro, check outhttps://thechristianexile.com [https://thechristianexile.com] for articles about how Christians, as exiles and strangers in this world, can best understand Jesus’s kingdom and our role in it. Music by Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos License code: CDWDL49I0B7ZGM6W

#19 - The Sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-19) - G. Clay Leonard

Today’s episode comes from Clay Leonard on a tough text from the book of Genesis. Do you remember God’s command to Abraham to kill his son Isaac? If you’re like me and grew up in Sunday School, maybe you’ve never thought much about it. A couple of years ago, however, I was teaching a class full of nonChristians in a secular university and this same story from Genesis 22 came up. The majority of the students in the classroom had never heard of it but they responded with shock and anger towards a God that would demand human sacrifice. How should we understand this story? How does it impact our knowledge of God as our Father? Clay does an excellent job of answering these questions. After the episode, be sure to check out Clay’s website:gclayleonard.com [http://gclayleonard.com] . It has some great free VBS material that he’s written and designed, a free PDF of Authorized Worship, and a link to his newest bookThe Weekly Wordon Amazon.  ---- As mentioned in the intro, check outhttps://thechristianexile.com [https://thechristianexile.com] for articles about how Christians, as exiles and strangers in this world, can best understand Jesus’s kingdom and our role in it. ---- Music by Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos License code: CDWDL49I0B7ZGM6W

#18 - Dealing with Relativism - Trevor Major 🇳🇿

After the past two episodes, I’m reminded how much I miss New Zealand church of Christ family camps. This next lesson completes the recent trilogy from last year’s Easter camp and comes from Trevor Major on the challenges of relativism and how we as Christians might use the story of Jesus to show the importance of truth. Again, apologies on the less than perfect audio quality, but the lesson is well worth it. As mentioned in the intro, check out https://thechristianexile.com [https://thechristianexile.com] for articles about how Christians, as exiles and strangers in this world, can best understand Jesus’s kingdom and our role in it. Music by Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos License code: CDWDL49I0B7ZGM6W

#17 - Dealing with Conflict - Todd O'Donnell 🇳🇿

Laughter? Bad audio quality? Heartfelt lessons nonetheless? You’re probably at camp! This lesson is the next in a series from New Zealand. Todd O’Donnell reminds us in a lighthearted way how Christians must deal in Christlike love with the conflicts that inevitably rise up in the church. Scripture is full of reminders of Christ’s love and mercy for us when we don’t deserve it. That’s how we’ve got to treat our brethren. As mentioned in the intro, check out https://thechristianexile.com [https://thechristianexile.com] for articles about how Christians, as exiles and strangers in this world, can best understand Jesus’s kingdom and our role in it. Music by Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos License code: CDWDL49I0B7ZGM6W

#16 - Dealing with a Mixed Up World - Kent O'Donnell 🇳🇿

The next few episodes are coming all the way from New Zealand and will be a little bit longer than usual. That’s because the members of the churches of Christ over there get together a few times a year for camps that dedicate a lot of time studying the Bible. This particular camp focused on Dealing with the challenges we face from the world. This first lesson is from Kent O’Donnell encouraging us to live godly lives even though our world is incredibly mixed up. Kent gives special attention to Christian parents and our responsibilities to our families.  As mentioned in the intro, check out https://thechristianexile.com [https://thechristianexile.com] for articles about how Christians, as exiles and strangers in this world, can best understand Jesus’s kingdom and our role in it. Music by Bensound.com/free-music-for-videos License code: CDWDL49I0B7ZGM6W