Who’s in Charge Here? | Episode 14

by | Oct 27, 2021

Traditional interpretations of authority can tend toward objectification but learning to be a servant in every context is redemptive.     Scriptures: Matthew 15:21-28 Luke 19:6-10 2 Samuel 6:20-23 James 3:7-9 Genesis 1:26-28 Philemon 13-16 1 Samuel 8:4-9...

Thinking About Thinking | Episode 13

by | Oct 20, 2021

Barry talks about the tenuous yet long-term relationship between Christianity and education and why it has been fundamental to the faith, including in Judaism and the early church.       Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Deuteronomy 17:14-20 Deuteronomy...

Where Two Sides of the Grave Meet: in You | Episode 12

by | Oct 13, 2021

In his conversation with Sadducees recorded in Luke 20, Jesus teaches that the resurrection is real and establishes two things: hope for the future and change for the present.     Scriptures and Apocrypha: Luke 20:27-44 Exodus 3:1-4:17 Psalm 110 Genesis 6...

Plaze Glain Donuts, Please

by | Oct 13, 2021 | Devotionals

When I lived in Waco—newly married, fledging a church, attending college—there were not uncommon occasions for purchasing a few donuts from HEB, the grocery store. In that day still a consumer of donuts, I preferred sourdough. However, most of the kids our car...

Living in the Resurrection

by | Oct 6, 2021 | Devotionals

Signs engineered to maximize visibility emerge only after their usefulness has disappeared. Beyond them, the dim outlines of buildings and trees dissipate with distance. Fog shrouds the entirety of the morning’s two hour commute. The deep, broad cloud hugging the...

What Should We Do with Power? | Episode 10

by | Oct 1, 2021

Barry talks with Jared Wellman, pastor and SBC Executive Committee member, and Rob Collingsworth about the recent happenings in the Southern Baptist Convention and a Christian’s responsibility to advocate for the vulnerable.     Scriptures: Luke 10:25-37...

Stranger Things That Matter | Episode 9

by | Sep 29, 2021

Barry talks about some well-known Old Testament passages and how they should shape the way we see outsiders. Treating outsiders the way God in Christ does would revolutionize our lives and our world.     Scriptures: Genesis 18-19 Judges 19 Leviticus 19:17-18...

Both the Beasts of the Sea and Our Enemies

by | Sep 29, 2021 | Devotionals

I recently spent 2 Sundays at East Paris Baptist Church, in Paris. You know, Texas. One of the themes emerging from the texts of my 4 sermons there is that God’s mercy in this world is coextensive with His sovereignty. It’s an important idea in Scripture, and it can...

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

by | Sep 22, 2021 | Devotionals

(Caveat: this memo contains petty complaints.) Much of Saturday was occupied by replacing a broken washing machine and clearing a clogged drain in my kitchen. Admittedly, the washing machine was just an expense: my wife found and bought it, and a very nice young man...