Gospel Talktrine

Both Matthew and Luke show in grand poetic fashion how Jesus is not only the Messiah, but the very purpose of the entire Law of Moses, Emmanuel, God Himself. And they both do it in Chapter One.

The “New Testament” describes not just a book of scripture but an agreement between God and His people. What is that agreement and how do we keep it?

Mark and Bry revisit the important themes of the Old Testament by reviewing their favorite scriptural Hebrew words. Hilarity ensues.

Our Old Testament course draws to a close, and we discuss Zechariah’s and Malachi’s counsel to their people and their visions of the last days. In their time, and ours, the question is the same: when will the day of the Lord come?

When the Jews returned from exile, it wasn’t a victorious procession back to Jerusalem and a sudden return to faithfulness. It was a long, slow process that required faithfulness and determination from three very important people—Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

The most important message in Daniel wasn’t that we should resist worldly influences over the substances we take in, or that God can save us from a lion’s den, or even a fiery furnace. It is that Christ overcomes the world precisely when it rejects him, and it is delivered—figuratively speaking—straight from the horse’s mouth.

Bry Cox joins the program, for a discussion of the children of Israel in exile. Daniel and his friends refuse the King’s food, survive the fiery furnace and the lion’s den, and Esther saves the Jewish people from a Persian genocide.

Ezekiel’s vision of an idealized temple has everything to teach us about God’s plan, our need for a Savior, what it means when we sin, and how we ourselves are a sanctuary for the Spirit.

When Israel was carried away captive, God promised them a miracle every bit as amazing as raising a valley of dry bones up from the dead. What was the miracle? Believe it or not, it’s God changing YOUR heart!

How could the ancient Israelites have discerned between Yahweh’s prophets and the many false prophets among them? How can we?

Jeremiah had perhaps the hardest job of any prophet—calling people to repentance when he knew for a fact that they wouldn’t listen. We discuss his particular gifts that helped him endure, specifically courage, faith, and his perception that the word of God burned inside of him like a fire.

The last 11 chapters of Isaiah are a series of poetic prophecies which sum up the life’s work of this legendary prophet—foretelling the all-encompassing hope of a new heaven and a new earth, where the whole world would be invited to partake of God’s blessings forever.

Isaiah foretells the woes of God’s “suffering servant,” and testifies of Yahweh’s power over chaos, sin, and death. We discuss the meaning of the word “gospel,” and, just to top it off, study the most powerful passages in all of scripture.

We discuss the incomparable nature of God, the origin of the word “gospel,” and the theory of “Deutero-Isaiah.”

Isaiah warned Israel of the dangers of blindness, the inevitability of justice, and, most of all, the transforming power of choice.

Latter-day Saints aren’t the first people whom God commanded to be a temple-going people. This has been a practice since Adam and Eve, a practice first described in scripture with any detail as the Tabernacle of Moses. LDS Content Developer Mike Madsen joins us for a discussion of the Tabernacle, how when it was revealed it reflected the Exodus the Jews had just endured, and what it still teaches us today.

When he was called to be a prophet, Isaiah learned that the refiner’s “fire” might have one of two effects: God could purify those who came into his presence, if they approached with the right attitude. Those who failed to humble themselves, on the other hand, faced a dangerous situation.

Part of what makes Isaiah hard to understand is that, at times, it's difficult to know what antecedents his pronouns refer to. As it turns out, that uncertainty is by design.

Though separated by centuries and perhaps hundreds of miles, Amos and Joel were surprisingly united in their warning of the “Day of the Lord,” in which God would visit wickedness with justice, and in their visions of the latter day glory he would bring to the earth.

Hosea marks the beginning of our study of the “prophetic” works of the Old Testament, and we discuss both the historical context of Hosea, and what he adds to Israel’s own understanding of its history. We also discuss the themes of insult to God and Forgiveness found in this powerful and poetic book of scripture.

Jonah is unique among the Prophetic books for being a story about a prophet, rather than the writings of a prophet. But it is unique for other reasons as well—the book of Jonah works even better as a parable than it does as a prophecy.

The book of Job was not written to show us an example of someone who dealt faithfully with loss, but to offer an ideal of how to think about suffering. Also, bonus track after the credits!

Why is the statement “All is vanity” actually an affirmation of God’s grace and goodness, rather than a denial of it?

As we study the links between the ancient Temple and each of us, we also examine the words of Christ as he taught how fully the Old Testament truly testifies of Him.

When Elisha took up Elijah’s discarded cloak, he put on more than an article of clothing—even more still than a prophetic mantle, as important as that was. He picked up a burden, the burden of advancing the grand metaphor of the history of the people of Israel, a history that is alive in each person who sets his feet on the path to Yahweh.

What makes Elijah so special, special enough to appear to Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith, and to have his coming announced in all five of the Standard Works?

When Jeroboam was made king over the newly divided Northern Kingdom of Israel, he was given a simple promise: Worship Yahweh and he would be sustained. Instead, he instituted idolatry among his people, thinking to consolidate his power. Thereafter, none of his successors ruled in righteousness. What happened to Israel as a result? What does this mean in my life?

Solomon was so wise, God told him there had never been one like him before, nor would there be after. So, how did his wisdom compare with Christ’s? What single verse in Deuteronomy could he have read that would have made all the difference?

The longest book in the Bible is also the one that spans the greatest portion of Jewish history, and one of the most quoted by New Testament prophets.

What were David’s small mistakes that led to his big one? How does the Sermon on the Mount apply to both David and Saul? Why is lust such a big deal?

How did Jonathan and Saul, though they had vastly different reactions to David’s kingly destiny, both love their “neighbor” as themselves? What made David so capable of forgiveness? Who is Abigail and what makes her one of the noblest characters in all of scripture?

The book of Samuel says “man looketh on the outward appearance.” What are some common ways we do this? What was Saul’s tragic flaw? How was David a man after God’s own heart? How do Goliath’s actions correspond with Satan’s temptations of Christ?

When Israel tried to use the Ark of the Covenant as a weapon, the Prophet Samuel taught them a valuable lesson about following Jehovah.

The stories of Ruth and Hannah don’t include any dramatic miracles or the words of prophets, so why did the ancient scribes include them in the Bible? What’s so important in these accounts that we can’t learn anywhere else?

The Judges of Israel serve as powerful likenesses of Christ, as the Israelites represent us, the (hopefully) repentant sinner.

Why did God let an entire generation of Israelites die in the wilderness? Why did he command his chosen people to utterly destroy their enemies? How hard was it to follow Joshua when you’d grown up with a prophet like Moses?

Through Moses, God lets us know remembering, like gratitude, is a choice, one that requires work.

The prophet Balaam is a study in contradictions, and we discuss his story on three levels: as a fable, as a tragic drama, and as a type of Christ.

Numbers 11-14, 21. Is it possible that the Israelites who were saved by looking at a brass serpent only knew they'd been saved in retrospect? What are the dangers of ingratitude?

What makes symbols so important in studying scripture, and in understanding the Exodus? What does the Golden Calf symbolize? How can I find hidden treasures of knowledge?

When God parted the Red Sea, he was actually providing an even more miraculous form of help to the Israelites--he was enabling them to change from within. A hint to how is found in our discussion of the meaning of His name.

What do the plagues sent to Egypt teach us about God? What does God's name (YHWH) really mean?

What were the forces surrounding Jesus in his final week? How did he show us the way to have faith, hope, and courage?

We've all heard that Joseph of Egypt is a type of Christ, but why does that matter? What else might this mighty prophet represent? And what does this all have to do with Isaiah?

How do we know "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was important to God's children long before the Ten Commandments? Why do bad things happen to good people?

If the birthright blessings were meant to be passed from father to firstborn son, why did none of the patriarchs of Abraham's time follow this pattern?

In the story of Abraham and Isaac, if Isaac symbolizes Christ, who does Ishmael symbolize? How does the test of Sarah compare to the test of Abraham? What is the simplest way to follow Abraham's example today?

When Lot and Abraham parted ways, Abraham gave Lot his choice of the fertile Jordan Valley, or the barren hills to the west. Who got the better of that bargain?

Topics discussed include: The equality of Abraham and Sarah, how the Abrahamic covenant is the antidote to the fall, and how Abraham's exodus echoes so many others in the scriptures.

Mark welcomes award-winning photographer and Hebrew enthusiast Bry Cox to discuss the story of Noah's ark, and how it relates to the city of Enoch and the tower of Babel.