Better Bible Reading Podcast

Here's the latest and greatest of what's going on with me, and what to expect on the Better Bible Reading podcast on YouTube channel for the rest of 2023! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "The Man and the Message" from 1 John 1:1-4. It was preached by Kevin Morris at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. You can listen to the audio version of this entire series from Ruth on the Better Bible Reading Podcast: https://www.betterbiblereading.com/podcast Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "Waiting for Her Blessed Hope" from Ruth 4:1-22. It was preached at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. You can listen to the audio version of this entire series from Ruth on the Better Bible Reading Podcast. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "A Living Hope" from Ruth 3:1-18. It was preached at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. You can listen to the audio version of this entire series from Ruth on the Better Bible Reading Podcast. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Good Friday is a mixed bag for Christians. Some treat the day very seriously, some churches have special services, and other Christians simply skip Good Friday and go straight to celebrating Easter. But what should we think about Good Friday? Rather than telling you how to celebrate Good Friday, I want to tell you how we should think through the events. Specifically, I want to spend this episode discussing how Good Friday was a day when much more was going on than what met the eyes of Jesus' disciples, the crowds, and the religious leaders. In fact, we're going to see how the events taking place during Good Friday were meant to call us back to the curse and the promise found in Genesis 3. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "Her Hope is Not Put to Shame" from Ruth 2:1-23. It was preached at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. The audio version of the first sermon from this series in Ruth can be found on the Better Bible Reading Podcast: https://www.betterbiblereading.com/podcast Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "In Hope, She Believed Against Hope" from Ruth 1:6-22. It was preached on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Is this a helpful statement? Is it a Roman Catholic idea? Is it even biblical? Today I want to share with you a provocative statement made by none other than the Protestant Reformer, John Calvin. Today we're doing a little church history, some interaction with Ephesians 4, and an overall increase (hopefully) in our appreciation for belonging to both Jesus Himself, and His church. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Genealogies are probably the least-appreciated part of the Bible. They're full of names hard to pronounce, and if our motivation is low, we'll find a reason to simply skip over them altogether. But that's no good. Genealogies are worth out time- not only because they are part of God's inspired Word- but also because they make some important points when it comes to understanding the Bible's claim to historical reliability and theological interpretation. To help you appreciate genealogies, let's take a look at the two genealogies of Jesus (Matthew and Luke) and see what they teach us about the birth narratives of Jesus. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Hey friends! I'll be preaching a series of sermons through the book of Ruth at my church, and I wanted to share them with you. You can expect these sermons about once a month, and if you've never studied the book of Ruth before, this sermon will be a great place to start, since we'll kick things off in chapter 1, verse 1. Thanks for listening! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

While the gospel of John is a popular place to start for many Bible readers (either new Christians or new reading plans), you might wonder where to go from there. I think the best book to follow John's gospel is actually 1st John. This book acts as an inspired commentary on many of the themes found in the gospel of John. Today we'll look at some of these, and hopefully, you'll come away with a new appreciation of this book! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

How does the Incarnation relate to the human condition, known as "the rat race"? It turns out, the vicious cycle of human existence eluded to us by Solomon is exactly what we need to come to terms with, in order to appreciate the good news of Jesus Christ. In a manner of speaking, Ecclesiastes reminds us of the bad news which makes the gospel so glorious. During a season of hustle and bustle, New Years' resolutions, and attempts to remedy our lives with silver bullets, we need to be reminded of the rescue and freedom that Jesus accomplishes for His people by entering into the human experience on our behalf. This sermon is entitled "The Heart of the Matter" from Ecclesiastes 9:11-18. It was preached on Sunday, December 18, 2022, at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

There are thousands of Bible reading plans, but I want to share with you the 5 Bible reading plans I think you should use in 2023. While these 5 Bible reading plans may sound like too much, I will share with you what makes each one of them unique, and worth your time! 1. The Robert Murray M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan This plan is divided into personal and family reading, averaging 4-5 Bible chapters each day in various genres. In a year, you'll read the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice. Download Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading Plan Here: https://www.mcheyne.info/calendar.pdf 2. The 2/1 Reading Plan The name of the game here is simple: Read two chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament each day. You'll finish in roughly one year. Check out Matthew Everhard's Bible Reading Plan Printout Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B__wL9T6X1mXM1FtWERBYnBSOWtKei03bDRNbXlIYTZYMmpJ/view?resourcekey=0-vtYIb_f_oq3a-YKYdwkMdw 3. Read the Entire New Testament in One Month The New Testament is made up of 26 books. This is the toughest of all the plans because it requires a lot of reading every day. However, it's a quick win for anyone who is willing to dive deep for one month, getting a rich overview of the entire New Testament. 4. Read the Psalms in One Month A little easier than the entire New Testament, this plan simply requires reading 5 Psalms each day, finishing all 150 in 30 days 5. Read Proverbs in One Month Here's the easiest plan. Read one chapter from the book of Proverbs each day, finishing all 31 in one month. You'll see structure and patterns in Proverbs that you would never have noticed before! Remember, Bible reading plans are only a means to an end: meeting with God in His Word. Make these a joy and a means to your ultimate goal of growing as a child of God! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enroll in my FREE course, teaching you how to read the Bible: https://betterbiblereading.com/freeclass Become a Patron for Better Bible Reading https://patreon.com/betterbiblereading Dr. Everhard's Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzZeN-hOXtiz9Q0YvVUee8A Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This sermon is entitled "The Heart of the Matter" from Judges 6:1-32. It was preached on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at Ortega Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville Florida. I am posting this video to satisfy my preaching class requirement with Moody Bible Institute, and my professor and classmates will be watching it for grading. With that said, I wanted to share it publicly on my channel for any who are interested in watching. I hope it is a blessing to you! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Today we welcome Dr. Matthew Everhard back onto the Better Bible Reading Podcast to talk about his newest book entitled "Souls: How Jesus Saves Sinners". "Souls" is a book about the gospel, and it brings to light the importance of our souls in the context of sharing and understanding the gospel. We'll cover some questions about the book, some dangers of false gospels today, and what we should take away from this topic. Below is a link for the book- and please note that the book is also available in Kindle and Audible format as well! https://www.amazon.com/Souls-How-Jesus-Saves-Sinners/dp/B0BHKV234P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UCVNKHXLJV3I&keywords=souls+how+jesus+saves+sinners&qid=1670620485&sprefix=souls+how+jesus+saves+si%2Caps%2C348&sr=8-1 Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

The more we read our Bibles, the more layers we start to uncover. If this hasn't happened for you, or you find yourself thinking that you've already learned everything there is to know about a passage, let me encourage you to start thinking about biblical themes. The themes in the Bible connect the dots in amazing ways. Not only do they cross over from the Old to New Testament- but they also cross over between different biblical genres. Today we'll look at a theme in the Bible that crosses between Genesis, Proverbs, and Revelation. Two different testaments and three different genres. Let's connect the dots and enhance our Bible reading! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

This question is very divisive. Some people argue that Bible interpretation is all about the work of understanding the grammar and literary features of the Bible, along with some historical background knowledge. Others argue that only the Holy Spirit can interpret the Bible to us and it requires none of those things. What doesn't help is that we typically argue this question with two different definitions of what exactly Bible interpretation means. Today I want to offer a balanced approach that (hopefully) avoids both extremes. I hope it's helpful to your own endeavor to correctly interpret the Bible while being led by the Spirit! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

Today I want to focus on one specific way to upgrade your Bible reading process. It's a visual aid tool that anyone can use because just about everyone has this already. You don't need any tech gear or even an internet connection. All you need is a Bible and one highlighter. Here's how it works and why this technique is such a powerful visual aid for Bible reading. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

From Theoretical-Practical Theology Volume 1, pages 104-112 Today we're wrapping up chapter 1 with Peter van Mastricht's interesting explanation of what the big idea behind theology is. For some people, theology is all about doctrine. For others, it's all about practice. And for most of us, it's somewhere between the middle. Peter van Mastricht gives us his answer about the chief end of theology by calling it "preeminently practical". Here's what that means and how it makes his approach to theology unique. Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!

What does the parable of the persistent widow teach us? This parable is unique to the gospel of Luke, but thankfully we don't have to guess about the right interpretation of this parable. That's because Luke tells us exactly what it's about in verse 1: "And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart." Today we'll consider how this parable encourages us to pray and how prayer keeps us from losing heart. This video is from a recent sermon I preached at Grace Community Church in Yulee Florida. If you want to know more about this church, feel free to visit their website: gracenassau.com Also, be sure to check out my free course to help you read the Bible. You can visit Betterbiblereading.com/freeclass and get started immediately! Support the show If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the show, consider becoming a Patron!