The Blue Collar Scholar

One of the most important attributes of God is that He does not change. For if God can change, then He was either imperfect and has changed into perfection, or else He was perfect, and no longer is. Furthermore, if God can change, then we cannot trust His promises. And if an All Powerful Deity could change, even a little bit, then given enough time, His perfection would change so much that He would become an All Mighty Tyrant. But we can trust in God that He does not change (James 1:17). This episode briefly explores what it does and does not mean when we say that God does not change.

1941 was the year when the final major chess pieces were put on the World War II chessboard. Neither the United States of America nor the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were full participants in the Second World War when 1941 began, even though the war was in its second year in Europe and its fifth year (or so) in East Asia. But the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany changed all that. First, Nazi Germany violated its own non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and began the Summer of 1941 with the largest land invasion in the history of mankind. And in response to an oil embargo (among other grievances), Japan chose to engage in a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, on December 7th, 1941, a date which lives in infamy. As 1942 began, all of the major powers were officially engaged in the biggest war in history.

This episode goes into both reform and separatist movements in the Church going back long before Martin Luther. And, of course, we discuss the life and times of Luther, Zwingli, And Calvin. This episode briefly touches on Protestant theological developments, the disastrous Muenster Rebellion, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

There is a word that pops up in Scripture from time to time: "rebuke." It is not a word that is part of the average American's vocabulary. A better term might be "correction." A fool hates being corrected and would prefer to go on believing that he is right, even when he is not. But a wise man accepts correction, not because it is pleasant (for neither giving nor receiving correction is pleasant), but because it is much preferable to be in the Truth than to continue in error.

Following the miraculous British evacuation from Dunkirk, the UK stood alone as the sole major, unconquered nation standing in the way of Adolf Hitler. The United States, officially neutral, tried to help out, using a cash-&-carry policy to supply the Brits, then a destroyers-for-bases plan designed to arm the British Navy while remaining neutral, then finally stretching the definition of "neutral" to its breaking point with the Lend-Lease policy. Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe engaged in an all-out air war for the future of the UK. ... This episode also discusses, briefly, the North African front and the lead-up to Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

I am no expert on the Roman Catholic Church, and I know even less about the Eastern Orthodox Church. (Note: This will be true for many of the world religions we cover this semester.) So consider this episode a history buff's (and a Protestant's) honest attempt to better understand these branches of Christianity with incredibly ancient roots.

Here's a nice, short, sub-20-minutes sermon to enjoy on your Valentine's Day. I dusted off the oldest sermon notes I have, at least for any sermon that (apparently) was not recorded when I gave it in 2003. (A few older sermons are available elsewhere in the Blue Collar Scholar back catalogue, using the audio recording from that time.) So I smoothed out, edited, and updated the notes to bring you this 2026 version of this sermon I gave in college. In this message, I make the case that we have to be intentional about living out our faith, and that "coasting by" just is not enough.

Blitzkrieg (German for Lightning War) is designed to move quickly, discombobulate your enemy, and achieve victory before they can properly counter attack. In the earliest stages of World War II in Europe, the Wehrmacht - exhibiting an incredible amount of speed and coordination between the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and Luftwaffe (Air Force) - achieved an unprecedented series of conquests, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France (as well as a decisive defeat of the British Expeditionary Force) all in a couple months time in the late spring & early summer 1940. However, the miraculous evacuation of most of the B.E.F. (and 100,000 of their French allies) at Dunkirk meant that Britain would be able to continue the good fight, and the French fighters formed the core of the Free French forces who would continue fighting with the Allies throughout the war.

This will not be the only lecture on Christianity in the Comparing World Religions class this spring. This lesson mostly focuses on Christian teachings and theology that make Christianity different from other religions.

The Book of Job is a fascinating case study in human suffering. In it we see an extremely righteous man suffer, and we see his well-meaning friends misunderstand, thinking that only a wicked person would suffer so. But that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, sometime people suffer because of the good that they do, or because of the purity and excellence of their faith. In this sermon, we will draw five lessons that we learn from the Book of Job.

Even though World War I was supposed to be "The War To End All Wars," there were several major and minor wars that ravaged the world between World War I and World War II. The way World War I ended caused many of these conflicts, and each and every one of these conflicts affected how, why, and who fought in World War II. This lecture will briefly touch upon the Spanish Civil War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Chinese Civil War, and the Sino-Japanese War & the Rape of Nanking.

Our survey of world religions begins with Judaism. With a common Tanakh (Old Testament) tradition shared with Christianity, Judaism has an impact on history way beyond their numbers. This episode - and each Comparing World Religions lecture to follow - is intended to increase understanding for those who may not belong to that religion. If any listener would like to critique my take on Judaism, or any religion to follow, I welcome your feedback. I, too, would like to grow in knowledge, understanding, compassion, and empathy for others.

This is the conclusion to the Heaven series. Since we learned about Heaven in the previous three sermons, we now examine what it looks like to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven, for Christians are called to be ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20.

This episode jumps right into the the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference & the Versailles Treaty. We take a quick survey through the technological and cultural advances and trends in the 1920s and 1930s. This episode also covers the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. At this point, we discuss the "Okies" who became migrants from one part of the nation (Oklahoma Panhandle and the surrounding region) to another part of the nation (California). While referencing the Grapes of Wrath, we see that even white Americans are treated poorly when they are migrants. This should cause us to have empathy for those who are immigrants. This caused the class to delve into a discussion of immigration in the U.S. today. This discussion was impassioned, and we did not all agree. But I feel like all students remained respectful toward each other.

This Spring, I will be teaching a World War II class and a Comparing World Religions class for the Lifetime Learning program at Neosho County Community College. The first lecture in the WWII class dropped a few days ago. This is the first lecture in the Comparing World Religions, as we explore how different religions answer ten questions very differently.

The Heaven Series now focuses on the last few chapters of Revelation and asks important questions about what the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, called "New Heavens and New Earth," will be like.

The Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning classes kick off with our World War II class. This episode analyzes World War I with special emphasis on how the Great War influenced World War II.

NOTE: This is a re-broadcast of an episode from August 28, 2025. ... This lecture was intended to be a World War I lecture, but the lion's share of the lecture ended up being all the relevant history leading up to the "Great War." So, for our Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning "World War II" class, this will function as the background to Episode 1, which will be released as soon as it is edited.

The Heaven series continues into the next logical topic: Heaven itself. In this sermon we will explore what the Scriptures say that Heaven is and what it is like, and we will try to shed a few common misconceptions that culture and entertainment have given us about Heaven.

This begins a new 4-part series on Heaven. And, unfortunately, the logical place to start this series is on a downer: death. But the Bible has a lot of interesting and specific things to say about the topic of death. So join with us as we explore the macabre topic as we prepare to launch into the much more joyful topic of Heaven.

Happy New Year! As we bid farewell to 2025, let us take a look back in the Old Testament to a time when a great leader said farewell to his era and ushered in the age of the judges. Joshua was a transitional figure. He took over for Moses, for all intents and purposes the founder of Judaism. He seems to be the last person to lead all of Israel (and not just this or that part of Israel) until King Saul, or perhaps Samuel. Joshua's final sermon shows that he feared that the Israelites might slip into all the sins and trends that indeed would play out in the age of the judges. And so Joshua told the people to be witnesses to their own commitments to God and hold themselves accountable. Let us too - both individually and as communities - do likewise.

Merry Christmas!!! You probably haven't heard a Christmas sermon from Galatians before. But in Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul -- who almost never talks about specific moments in Jesus' life -- talks about our adoption as heirs with Christ, and he anchors that teaching in Jesus who was "born of a woman." (Galatians 4:4) And so, I hope you join us as we dig into the Word and learn that (1) without Christ, you remain a child or a mere servant, (2) but Jesus came -- at just the right time -- to bring you into God's family, and (3) the only reasonable response is worship.

This sermon was originally given as an "In View of a Call" sermon at First Baptist Church of Goodman (MO) in December 2011. It was not, to the best of my knowledge, recorded. So I adapted the sermon notes, arranging the content around a generic and nonspecific local church, and using this as the conclusion to "The Church" sermon series.

While there are many informal rituals in a church - how many songs one sings before and after the sermon, for instance - and while many churches (such as our Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters) have many rituals, the New Testament only seems to give us two: baptism & the Lord's Supper (i.e., Communion, or the Eucharist). So in this sermon we examine these two rituals of the church.

The New Testament uses the term "church" to refer to the global church - or, all who serve Jesus and are saved by His sacrifice - as well as the local church. In this episode we explore some of what the New Testament tells us about how to organize a local church.

Happy Thanksgiving! This episode looks at the life of the Apostle Paul and all the hardships he faced. And yet he directs us to give thanks in all circumstances. For he knew what it was like to face situations that make gratitude difficult, and yet he preached joy and thanksgiving. In the conclusion of this message, we analyze what it looks like for a church to be known for gratitude and cheerfulness ... and why many churches are absolutely not known for joy and thanksgiving.

The local church's purpose has to include an outward focus (mission), an inward focus (fellowship), but most importantly an upward focus (worship). Worship is the reason we were saved. It is the reason the church exists. It is the reason we do mission, to gain the Lord more people who worship Him. And it is the reason we do fellowship, in order to build up and encourage those who worship the Lord to continue worshipping the One who deserves our worship.

The local church must do outreach; that is covered in the previous episode. The local church must worship God. That will be next week's lesson. In this episode, we look at the "inward" focus of the church. We briefly touch on the fact that an inward focus includes looking after your own spiritual well-being and also giving attention to your family. But in this episode, we focus on the importance of your local church family, and why we should be in devoted and unified to serve God alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in the local church.

This episode starts a new series that examines what the Bible says about the local church. This episode digs into the outward focus of a church: mission. This includes but is not limited to international missions. This includes but is not limited to missions projects elsewhere in the United States (or whatever your home country is). This includes but is not limited to work in the local community. This includes but is not limited to serving those in need who may even attend your church. It is all mission. Mission is a verb. A church must engage in mission. A church must serve and love people, meeting the felt needs of the needy and also introducing people to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

This conclusion of the Real Theology series covers - but barely scratches the surface of - Christology, or the study of Christ. Following through on the previous 2 episodes that looked at the Person of God the Holy Spirit and the Person of God the Father, this episode examines the second Person of the Trinity, which is God the Son.

God manifests Himself as God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit. The divinity of Jesus Christ and His identification as God the Son is a fount of endless fascinating theological discussion. And despite that God the Holy Spirit is often the forgotten member of the Trinity, His work in the book of Acts alone leads us to theological discourse. And so, despite being perhaps the most obvious manifestation of God, the Father is perhaps the one with the least distinctive traits. And so this episode takes a swing at answering the question, "Who is the Father?"

For our *** THREE HUNDRETH EPISODE!!! *** we will continue in our sermon series entitled "Real Theology." In this episode we take a look at what Scripture tells us about the Holy Spirit.

In this episode we review all the attributes of God that we have previously discussed in the "Real Theology" series, and conclude with a last look at the attributes of God. (1) Freedom: God answers to nobody. (2) Jealousy: God does not suffer any rival. (3) Beauty: God's personality & character are perfectly desirable. (4) Victory: God will not lose.

Theologians divide God's attributes into two categories: communicable attributes, which we share with God (only in much lesser capacity), and incommunicable attributes, which show us that God is much different than we are. This sermon deals with some of God's incommunicable attributes. We discuss in this episode (1) God's independence/aseity/self-existence, (2) God's immutability or His unchangeableness, (3) God's ability to have a personal relationship with all persons despite being infinite, (4) God's perfection, & (5) the fact that God experiences all of His attributes at all times, remaining ever-loving and also ever-just.

The Real Theology series continues as we discuss what the One God (see last episode: "There Is One God") is like. He is (1) all powerful, (2) all knowing, (3) in all places, (4) in all time, (5) all wise, & (6) all good.

This fall begins a new project. I will be preaching at a local nursing home facility, and I will be sharing those sermons on this feed. Our first series is a 7-part series about Christian theology. In this episode, we examine what it means to say that there is one God, and why it is important that God is a singular Being.

Based on the frequency of End Times-related content on this podcast feed, I fear that you may misinterpret how fanatical I am about eschatology. Believe me, I am not an End Times nut. I am quite non-dogmatic in my eschatological views. However, eschatology is a popular topic. Of all the Lifetime Learning classes I have taught, it was the Revelation class that easily had the highest enrollment. The End Times series was my most popular series at First Baptist Church of Goodman (MO) when I was pastor there. And in the Spring of 2018, in the final meeting of the Ambassador Academy, we covered the End Times, by request. So while this makes a bit of an awkward conclusion to a theology and apologetics -heavy series, nevertheless, this is how we concluded my all time favorite Christian small group. After this lecture, Gretchen and I moved away from Neosho, Missouri. ... Note: This is the LAST recording in my pre-2025 archive. Unless someone has a recording - that I don't possess - of any sermon I did in the past, then every episode of this podcast from here on out will be current.

The final apologetic argument in this series is an in-depth look at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ is raised from the dead, then that validates so much - perhaps everything - in the Christian worldview. In this episode I look at the Resurrection of Jesus, analyzing this event to see if it can be defended with logic, Scripture, and evidence. I also take a look at a few common arguments against the Resurrection and see if those arguments hold any weight.

This episode functions as a conclusion to the apologetics section of the Ambassador Academy series, except for the argument from the Resurrection of Christ, a topic that I saved for the upcoming Palm Sunday evening service. This episode covers the argument from consciousness, Pascal's Wager, proper basicality in regards to belief in the existence of God, and a response to the Problem of Evil/Pain/Suffering.

Genesis chapter 1 is probably not intended by God to be a scientific text. Rather, it appears likely that it is a polemic written against all of the polytheistic nature gods from the nations around Israel, and Genesis 1 is a bold statement that YHWH is transcendent above His creation and that all of the things that all the weaker gods govern - the waters, livestock, the moon, etc. - were all created by God in a week, almost as an afterthought. This episode includes such an analysis, and ends with the my own "Used Universe" model of Creationism which represented my position in 2018.

The ultimate Teleological Argument for the Existence of God is Creationism. Creationism comes in 3 forms: Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, and Evolutionary Creationism (otherwise known as theistic evolution). Creationism's strongest counter-argument is Neo-Darwinian Evolution. So this episode digs into Neo-Darwinism and other forms of evolutionary theories, as well as Intelligent Design, the movement to push back against macro-evolutionary theory. Intelligent Design is merely a minimal commitment to consider the possibility that scientific evidence might point to design. NOTE: This teaching is from 2018, and my opinions of evolution and Creationism have subtly shifted since then.

The apologetics subsection of the Ambassador Academy curriculum continues with an examination of the fine-tuning of the universe and how that strongly supports the existence of a mighty Designer.

In 2018, I was more critical of Dr. William Lane Craig and his theological paradigm than I am today. And yet, even in 2018, I was a big believer in the power of Dr. Craig's "Kalam Cosmological Argument." (1) Everything that begins to exist has a cause. (2) The universe began to exist. (3) Therefore, the universe has a cause. This argument feels both common sense but also underwhelming. However, when proving these premises, we begin to see just what kind of Cause this has to be. It has to be incredibly powerful, intelligent, and personal. In other words, God.

This episode analyzes the apologetics arguments of St. Thomas Aquinas. Most of his arguments are cosmological arguments or are cosmological-argument-adjacent.

Okay. So, I'm not fully convinced that the Ontological Argument is a persuasive argument for the existence of God. But Anselm of Canterbury and Dr. Alvin Plantiga swear by it, so who am I to ignore it amidst a series on apologetics arguments? Therefore, this episode is my fumbling attempt to explain and defend this complex and oft-misunderstood argument.

This episode begins with an impromptu discussion of various English translations of the Bible. Then, we discuss the different kinds of apologetics and the different philosophies apologists use to defend the Christian faith. Then the main point of this episode: we see how the Apostles Paul & Peter engage in apologetics in the New Testament.

After the New Year 2018, our Ambassador Academy class switched from a heavy emphasis on theology to a heavy emphasis on apologetics. (Note: a rough definition of "apologetics" is the intellectual defense of the Christian faith.) In preparing for the new series, I came to the conclusion that I ought to tell my story so that it would be clear why apologetics is so important to me. So this episode is mostly my personal testimony: about how I came to Christ, about our family history of various times we moved houses and hometowns and how that affecting my faith and church life, about the extremely tumultuous freshman year of college where I nearly became an atheist, about how I met and married my wife, etc. etc. etc. This episode ends with a quick rundown of important books in my library and why they are important to me. (And also some books from other worldviews and how to properly analyze other worldviews.)

This is the final episode in the theology section of the Ambassador Academy lectures. Starting in the next episode, we will switch to apologetics. This theology lecture, about the Incarnation (given just before Christmas 2017), provides analysis for the scriptural data presented in the previous episode.

This episode introduces the theological topic of the Incarnation, which is when God the Son became flesh (John 1:14) and dwelt with us humans as one of us humans. This episode, part 1, presents the texts of Scripture regarding the Incarnation in order to flesh them out in the next episode, part 2.

Having established the biblical data regarding the Trinity in the previous episode, this episode digs into the philosophical, logical, and theological implications of the doctrine of the Trinity.