The Assurance We Hold, The Judgment to Come

AI & The World We Live In.... Or Whatever

Welcome back to the Altars & Ashes Podcast. In this episode, we begin a new season and find ourselves between major projects, so we take up one of the biggest questions pressing on our age: artificial intelligence. AI is no longer science fiction. It is in our homes, our phones, our schools, our workplaces, our churches, and our children’s pockets. Like every tool, it carries both promise and peril. It can help us organize, create, research, communicate, and work with greater efficiency. But it can also train us toward laziness, deception, dependence, distraction, and even a counterfeit version of wisdom. So how should Christians think about AI? Not with panic. Not with blind optimism. But with biblical discernment. In this conversation, we talk about the good, the bad, and the strange world now forming around us. We consider how Christians should use technology without being used by it, how households should think about formation in an AI age, and why wisdom, virtue, truth, and embodied discipleship matter more than ever. Technology may change quickly, but Christ still reigns. The world is not spinning out of His hand. The question is not whether AI will shape the future. The question is whether Christians will meet that future with courage, clarity, and conviction. In this episode: * Why AI matters for Christians today * The good uses of artificial intelligence * The dangers of dependence, deception, and intellectual laziness * How AI may affect students, families, churches, and work * Why wisdom is more than information * How Christians can use tools without surrendering formation * Why Christ remains Lord over every age, invention, and empire The machines may be learning, but the church must not forget how to think. Until all Christ’s enemies are His footstool. #AltarsAndAshes #ArtificialIntelligence #ChristianWorldview #AI #Technology #ReformedTheology #ChristianLiving #HouseholdsOfFaith #Wisdom #Discipleship Get full access to Dust & Glory Media at dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe [https://dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Assurance We Hold, The Judgment to Come

Dust & Glory Media is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In this episode, we come to a close on Season 3 of the podcast, and we also conclude our series walking through the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. We closed out this journey by discussing some of the most weighty realities a Christian can face: * Assurance of salvation * Death and resurrection * Final judgment This episode covers: * Chapter 18 — Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation * Chapter 31 — Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead * Chapter 32 — Of the Last Judgment And if you’ve followed the season closely, you probably noticed something along the way: we accidentally skipped Chapter 18 earlier in the season. But looking back, it may have been providential, because assurance belongs beside death. And, resurrection belongs beside judgment. How can a Christian face the grave without terror?How can a believer stand before the reality of judgment with confidence?How can ordinary Christians endure suffering, temptation, and seasons of darkness without collapsing into despair? That is exactly what these chapters answer. This episode is not merely about “end times” or abstract theology. It is about learning to live like people who know where history is going. The confession reminds us that Christ will return, the dead will rise, every person will stand before the judgment seat of God, and yet the Christian can still possess deep and abiding assurance. In this episode, we discussed: * The difference between true assurance and false presumption * Why assurance rests on Christ before it rests on feelings * How assurance grows through ordinary faithfulness * What happens immediately after death * Why the Christian hope is bodily resurrection—not escapism * The certainty and glory of final judgment * Why heaven and hell must be taken seriously * How eternity should shape households, churches, holiness, and evangelism As we close out Season 3 and conclude our study through the 1689 Confession, our prayer is that this series has strengthened your confidence in Scripture, deepened your understanding of confessional theology, and encouraged you to build your household upon Christ with greater clarity, conviction, and endurance. Christ is reigning. History is moving toward judgment. And, the people of God have every reason to endure with hope. Hold fast to Christ. Do not fear death. And, live ready for the coming King.” Thanks for reading Dust & Glory Media! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Dust & Glory Media at dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe [https://dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Communion We Share, The Ordinances We Keep

In this episode of Altars & Ashes Podcast, we continue through the 1689 London Baptist Confession, focusing on the communion of saints, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper (Chapters 27–30). Today, we answer a foundational question: What does life together in Christ actually look like? Scripture teaches that Christians are not isolated individuals, but a people united to Christ and therefore united to one another. The church is meant to be visible, sacrificial, worshipful, and deeply connected. We also discuss the ordinances Christ gave His church: baptism as a public identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and the Lord’s Supper as covenant remembrance and spiritual nourishment for believers. Key takeaway:The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Christ calls His people into communion, marks them in baptism, and nourishes them at His Table. Get full access to Dust & Glory Media at dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe [https://dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Covenant of Marriage, The Life of the Church

The Covenant of Marriage, The Life of the Church Episode 036- On Chapters Chapter 25-26 of the 1689 Confession (Of Marriage and Of the Church) Our culture has spent the last fifty years dismantling the two most foundational institutions God ever built: marriage and the church. Marriage has been redefined, delayed, and discarded. What God established as a covenant has been reduced to a contract, a romance, a tax category, or a temporary emotional arrangement. The church has not fared much better. Many who claim the name of Christ now attempt to live detached from the local body—armed with a Bible app, a podcast feed, and just enough private spirituality to avoid accountability. But God does not build His people through isolated consumers. He builds through covenant. In this episode of Altars & Ashes, we continue our walk through the 1689 London Baptist Confession, looking at Chapter 25: Of Marriage and Chapter 26: Of the Church. These two chapters belong together because marriage and the church are not disconnected subjects. Marriage builds the household. The church gathers and governs the people of God under the headship of Christ. We talk about why marriage is not a human invention, why holiness belongs in the conversation about marriage, why Christians must marry in the Lord, and why God’s boundaries are not up for a vote. We also press into the doctrine of the church: the universal and visible church, the reality of imperfect churches, the headship of Christ, the purpose of the gathered body, and the necessity of local church commitment. The church is not optional. Marriage is not malleable. Covenant is not casual. God builds His Kingdom through faithful homes and committed churches. Stand firm, build faithfully, and let your household blaze as an altar to the King. Get full access to Dust & Glory Media at dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe [https://dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Words That Bind, The Authority God Ordains

In this episode of Altars & Ashes Podcast, we continue through the 1689 London Baptist Confession, focusing on lawful oaths and vows and the civil magistrate (Chapters 23 & 24). We address two often-overlooked areas of the Christian life: How seriously should we take our words?And how should we relate to governing authority? Scripture is clear, our words are not casual. When we speak, we speak before God. Oaths and vows are not empty religious language; they are weighty acts that call on God Himself as witness. And careless, manipulative, or dishonest speech is not a small issue because it reflects a deeper disregard for the God who hears every word. At the same time, authority is not random or merely human. Civil magistrates are ordained by God for the preservation of justice and the restraint of evil. Christians are called to live under authority with honor and conscience, without surrendering ultimate allegiance to God. This episode presses into the tension: speaking truthfully in a culture of loose words,and living faithfully in a world of imperfect authority. Key takeaway:Speak truthfully before God, and live faithfully under the authorities He has established. Thanks for reading Dust & Glory Media! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Dust & Glory Media at dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe [https://dustandglorymedia.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]