Bespoken
Tailor-Made Truths for a Discerning Body
What Is An Evangelical? (Part III)
January 23, 2023 • Matt Gilleskie, Jay Thomas
The label "evangelical" has shifted and evolved over time to a place in our present day when the term comes with all sorts of baggage - from cultural and political connotations to even racial and patriarchal assumptions. In this 3-part series, Pastor Jay and Matt Gilleskie discuss the word in order to help the Bible Church navigate some complex cultural circumstances by clearly staking out our identity as an evangelical church. In Part III, they address the following questions: 1. What do we mean when we say that CHBC is an "evangelical" church? 2. What kind of "evangelical" do we aspire to be, in particular? How do we get there?
What Is An Evangelical? (Part II)
January 16, 2023 • Matt Gilleskie, Jay Thomas
The label "evangelical" has shifted and evolved over time to a place in our present day when the term comes with all sorts of baggage - from cultural and political connotations to even racial and patriarchal assumptions. In this 3-part series, Pastor Jay and Matt Gilleskie discuss the word in order to help the Bible Church navigate some complex cultural circumstances by clearly staking out our identity as an evangelical church. In Part II, they address the following questions: 1. What are the most helpful definitions of the term "evangelical"? 2. If we could set forth one positive definition, what might we say? 3. Who is an "evangelical" according to our definition (institutions, people, denominations, theological traditions, etc.)? ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: - A representative work by Francis Grimke: https://smile.amazon.com/rights-wrongs-against-classic-reprint/dp/0331843307/ - https://smile.amazon.com/faithful-preacher-recapturing-pioneering-african-american/dp/1581348274 by Thabiti Anyabwile - https://smile.amazon.com/plain-theology-people-lexham-classics/dp/1683590341 by Charles Octavius Boothe
What Is An Evangelical? (Part I)
January 9, 2023 • Matt Gilleskie, Jay Thomas
The label "evangelical" has shifted and evolved over time to a place in our present day when the term comes with all sorts of baggage - from cultural and political connotations to even racial and patriarchal assumptions. In this 3-part series, Pastor Jay and Matt Gilleskie discuss the word in order to help the Bible Church navigate some complex cultural circumstances by clearly staking out our identity as an evangelical church. In Part I, they address the following questions: 1. Why is it important to define the term "evangelical" in our day? 2. Why is it so hard to do so? 3. What definitions have been offered in the past and in our present? (No value judgments!)
Changing Direction and How to Worship
December 12, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
Jay and Matt discuss the upcoming week's sermon on 1 Peter 4:7-5:4. This passage continues the theme of last week's sermon: waiting on the Lord through suffering. They discuss why Jay chose this text and how you might prepare to hear the word preached this Lord's Day.
Rejoicing and Trusting In Christ
November 28, 2022 • Matt Gilleskie, Martin Shin
Matt is joined by Martin Shin to discuss Martin's recent sermon, which kicked off our advent season. They discuss the way to real joy and how God uses the local church to edify his people (plus what Martin misses most about Argentina and how he came to know the Lord, among much more).
Sin Is Parody and Other Principles
November 14, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
How does Satan parody marriage through contemporary practices of dating and sexuality? How does he parody joy through the false promises of money, ecstatic experiences, and debauchery? The Evil One works through various aspects of our culture to enslave us and keep us from the good of God's design. Thanks be to God, who has delivered us from the dominion of sin through Christ. Now that we are free, how do we identify the distortions of the Evil One? Jay and Matt discuss the practical payoff of these questions in this episode. SHOW NOTES: https://smile.amazon.com/whole-christ-antinomianism-assurance_why-controversy/dp/1433548003 by Sinclair Ferguson
Send Me, Lord Jesus
November 7, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
In this episode, Jay and Matt get practical. How can I begin to pray? How can I pray more? What next steps can I take at CHBC to pray more, individually and together? How do I discern my vocation and how I can serve the purposes of God's kingdom? They take up all of these questions and more in this episode. We hope it's helpful! Show Notes: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1631466836
Prayer for Exiles
October 31, 2022 • Matt Gilleskie, Roddy Dinsmore
Roddy and Matt discuss last week's sermon on prayer that transforms the church, focusing on practical suggestions for cultivating a life of prayer that results in good works. We mentioned a few resources in the podcast: - The Joshua Project: https://joshuaproject.net/ - Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church, Paul David Tripp: https://smile.amazon.com/lead-gospel-principles-leadership-church/dp/1433567636 - Register for the Wednesday prayer night: https://biblechurch.life/community-dinner-and-prayer-service
Encountering God Through Creation and Stewarding It Well
October 24, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
Jay is back this week to discuss his most recent sermon on serving and protecting the creation from Genesis 1-2. He and Matt talk everything from "Patagucci" to Jonathan Edwards to theological ethics. Conservative Christians generally don't give much attention to the stewardship of creation as a biblical theme. How should we think about stewardship? What forces in our modern world work against a proper use of creation? How do Sabbath and stewardship interrelate? Listen as Jay and Matt discuss and apply to CHBC. SHOW NOTES: - Jonathan Edward's "Personal Narrative" of his conversion: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/jonathanedwardspersonalnarrative.pdf - "Hearing God's Words: Exploring Biblical Spirituality" by Peter Adam: https://smile.amazon.com/hearing-gods-words-exploring-spirituality/dp/0830826173 Recommended Works by Wendell Berry: - "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry: https://smile.amazon.com/jayber-crow-wendell-berry/dp/1582431604 - "Essays: Home Economics" by Wendell Berry: https://smile.amazon.com/home-economics-fourteen-wendell-berry/dp/1582434859 - "Poetry: This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems" by Wendell Berry: https://smile.amazon.com/this-day-collected-sabbath-poems/dp/1619024365
A First Word on Racial Reconciliation
October 17, 2022 • Matt Gilleskie, Ryan McKee
On this episode, Matt asks Ryan about his aims for the recent sermon on ethnic division and reconciliation. How can our church move forward together? They discuss the importance of being captivated by the biblical story of reconciliation and the necessity of prayer as the fuel for reconciling work. We hope you'll join us in prayer as we seek to be "perfected in love" (1 John 4:18).
The High Cost of Sexual Purity
October 11, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
Pursuing sexual purity – and holiness in general – requires God's grace. One of God's graces to us is the fellowship of the local church. Listen as Jay and Matt discuss the cultural features that make sustained repentance from sexual sin difficult and, more importantly, the counter-culture that our church should foster to help those who struggle with sexual sin find deeper satisfaction in the Lord.
What's Good and Beautiful about the Bible's Teaching on Sexuality?
October 4, 2022 • Ryan McKee, Jay Thomas
It is hard to talk about gender, sexuality, and identity today. How can Christians think well about these topics and find strength to live according to what the Scriptures teach? They should start with Jesus, holding fast to the Head. His Incarnation demonstrates the goodness of the human body and reveals the fact that we will be forever gendered, embodied beings. These facts have profound implications for those who are married, single, young, same-sex attracted, gender dysphoric, and more. Pray with us that these reflections will help our church think and act in ways that glorify our Lord Jesus Christ!
"Be Holy, For I Am Holy" ... But How?
September 26, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Matt Gilleskie
Ryan is out this week, but that didn't stop Jay and Matt from talking about what it means to be holy and how God makes us holy. In particular, they focus on suffering. We all suffer, and we often feel that our suffering is purposeless. But the Bible calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who suffered for us, as we endure hardship. How can we suffer in such a way that we grow in holiness in the process?
Resting... to the Glory of God
September 21, 2022 • Ryan McKee, Jay Thomas • Genesis 2:1–4
We spent a lot of time on the relationship of science to the Christian faith this Sunday, but the whole sermon was anchored in Genesis 2:1-4, where God sets apart the Sabbath day for rest and worship. In this episode, Jay and Ryan unpack the Sabbath in greater detail: Is the sabbath legally binding on Christians? How does the Bible speak of the Sabbath? How can we practice Sabbath? What cultural forces militate against resting in God's provision? Far from being merely a point of theological intrigue, the Sabbath principle has great relevance for how we live as exiles in a frantic culture.
Reading Genesis and Becoming Presbybanglicostals
September 12, 2022 • Jay Thomas, Ryan McKee
Bespoken is back! Listen as Jay and Ryan discuss the first sermon in our Genesis series. They cover everything from camp meetings during biblical theology class to the primary theological concern of Genesis 1-2. We hope this resource helps you think about and pray Genesis 1-2 this week, reflecting especially upon that central, soul-satisfying truth: I am not my own, but belong entirely to God.