Show Notes
What does it mean to seek God, and what does it mean to desire God? What role do our emotions play in seeking and desiring God? Can we still desire God even if we feel nothing? In this episode, Matt addresses these and other questions. In the Western Christian world, there’s a tendency to center one’s relationship with God around emotion and feelings. Some Christians turn Christianity into nothing but brainy intellectualism. How can we leave room for both emotions and the life of the mind without reducing everything down to one or the other? Listen to find out!
Mentioned in this episode: “Teach me to seek you, and as I seek you, show yourself to me; for I cannot seek you unless you show me how, and I will never find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you by desiring you, and desire you by seeking you; let me find you by loving you, and love you in finding you. Amen." (Anselm of Canterbury / BCP 2019)
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In this episode, Matt is interviewed by Mark Beuving, who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees for Eternity Bible College. Matt talks about his academic journey, his ministry, and the mission of Eternity Bible College.+++Pre-order Matt’s newest book: Sightings and Secrets: UFOs, Eyewitness Testimonies, and How Christians Can Make Sense of the Unknown (available wherever books are sold) - Amazon: https://a.co/d/0eD0cGtz Support The Bible (Unmuted) via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheBibleUnmutedMatthew's blog: https://matthewhalsted.substack.comDon't forget to subscribe to The Bible (Unmuted)!
One aim of Malachi's prophecy is to raise awareness about the corruption of the priesthood. This is seen clearly in Mal. 2:1-9. The priestly vocation, as outlined in Deuteronomy 18 and Numbers 3, is to be taken seriously. But the priests of Malachi's era were very negligent. And this specific problem raises other problems for Israel as a covenant community: If Israel herself is to be a priestly mediator to the world of God's blessings (Gen. 12:1-3; Ex. 19:6), how can she fulfill her calling if her own internal priestly system is unhealthy?
In this episode, Matt discusses a passage from Matthew 8, where a centurion comes to Jesus and exhibits exemplar faith. What can we learn from the Centurion’s faith? And what can we learn about faith as being more than just a cognitive exercise, but also a humble posture toward God and a bold stance in the world? +++
In Matthew 6:24-34, Jesus encourages his followers to pursue first the Kingdom of God and not to worry about temporal things. In doing so, Jesus challenges various assumptions that plague so much of modern culture -- not least, the assumption that ultimate meaning can be found in material possessions. But Jesus pushes back on this, reminding his listeners that people are valuable for who they are, namely, children of God.
This episode takes a deep dive into Mal. 1:6-14, where the priesthood is rebuked for not giving God the honor due his name. On the surface, this passage says alot, especially in terms of individual, practical/devotional application. But Matt takes listeners behind the text, showing how the larger story of Israel, the calling of Abraham in particular, factors into the equation as well. In short, Malachi isn't prophesying from within a theological vacuum. To the contrary, he prophesies in light of ancient Jewish beliefs, among which were inlcuded, not least, important missiological expectations. +++ Pre-order Matt’s newest book: Sightings and Secrets: UFOs, Eyewitness Testimonies, and How Christians Can Make Sense of the Unknown (available wherever books are sold) - Amazon: https://a.co/d/0eD0cGtz Support The Bible (Unmuted) via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheBibleUnmuted Matthew's blog: https://matthewhalsted.substack.com Don't forget to subscribe to The Bible (Unmuted)!