The Further Up, Further In Podcast

Episode 21 - Light and Life (Part 3)

In our third advent episode we continue our examination of Matthew 1-2 and of some of the nativity account in Luke by looking at the famous stories of the Shepherds and the Magi.

Episode 20 - Light and Life (Part 2)

In our second advent episode, we reflect on the story in Matthew of the angel telling Joseph about the miracle of the virgin birth and of the importance of the child Mary will give birth to, along with the Luke passage that narrates Gabriel's visitation with Mary to do the same.

Episode 19 - Light and Life (Part 1)

This is the first of our Advent episodes as we take a break for the month of December from our larger episode arc to reflect on Matthew 1-2 together (augmented by some passages from Luke as well). Today, we look at Matthew 1:1-17 and the genealogy of Jesus, which surprisingly, has quite a bit to tell us. 

Episode 18 - The Primary Forms of Love

This episode explores the connection between the law and love, and how the weightier matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness - are also the primary forms of love. 

Episode 17 - Faithful, Not Different

As we transition to the third big theme of the podcast - pursue fidelity in all things, faithfulness is essential - we look at a lesson I learned from Nicholas Wolterstorff, that God calls us to be faithful, not different. To be faithful will often require us to be different, but being different for the sake of being different has no intrinsic value. 

Episode 16 - Putting Ourselves in the Way of Grace

As we wrap up our episodes on our second main theme - stand under the Word of God, the Bible is foundational and authoritative - we reflect on some of the things we do and don't control in our pursuit of spiritual growth, and talk about the importance of reading the Bible as a way of putting ourselves in the way of grace.

Episode 15 - When is a Church, Not a Church?

This episode tackles the difficult question, when is a church, not a church? It looks at the three marks of the church and focuses on the central importance of the preaching of the Word, before examining how both modernist progressivism and postmodern progressivism have impacted some churches and denomnations to that they often do not preach the Bible.

Episode 14 - The Role of the Law

If we are going to stand under the Word of God and be corrected and calibrated by it, then a big part of that will be understanding the role of the law. In this episode we'll overview the function of the law in the Bible and how it applies to our pursuit of a deeper walk with Christ.

Episode 13 - We Need to be Corrected & Calibrated

As we dig into our second big theme - stand under the Word of God, the Bible is foundational and authoritative - we explore the idea of standing under the Word of God and discuss two key questions we can use when studying the scriptures to understand better what they principally teach.

Episode 12 - A Book Unlike Any Other (Part 2)

This episode wraps up our two week discussion of reasons to take the Bible's claim to speak for God seriously by examining one of my favorite arguments for the Bible's validity, what we could call the unity & diversity argument.  c