The Blue Collar Scholar

Evangelism is not a popular subject in Christian circles. We envision dutifully sharing the message - that Jesus died to free one from sin, death, and hell - to people who do not want to listen. And yet Christian leaders who strongly preach evangelism create a search-&-rescue mentality about evangelism that quickly leads to frustration and burnout and then makes us feel guilty for not evangelizing more. Instead, I want to cast a vision of evangelism that is designed to recruit worshipers who know Jesus well and worship Him well, and who are a part of the church because they have been mentored and loved, not led through a magic prayer and perhaps a quick baptism to become another statistic. The irony is that the less stressful evangelism strategy can, in theory, lead to far more converts, as 1 leads to 2, those 2 lead to 4, 4 to 8, 8 to 16, 16 to 32, 32 to 64, 64 to 128, 128 to 256, 256 to 512, 512 to 1024, and on and on. Note: This teaching was recorded on September 12, 2021.

Worship of the Lord does not require a church building, ... and it doesn't even require a church, a la "where 2 or more are gathered in His Name." Worship of God can be done in private, or in a family. And when done in this way, worship is maximally flexible, and allows for a great amount of creativity in worship. Note: This teaching was recorded on September 5, 2021.

Worship is a spiritual discipline. It certainly takes attendance. We must worship in community. But it takes more than attendance. Worship is not an event to attend. It is a verb, something that you do, and its focus is God. Note: This teaching was recorded on 8-29-2021, and the recording skips a beat every so often.

Prayer Walking is a fantastic activity to jump start your prayers while connecting your prayer life to your community, workplace, or school. One could also "prayer walk" through a news website in order to pray for our community, state, nation, and world with specificity. Note: This teaching was recorded on 8-8-2021, and there are several places where the recording cuts out for a second or two.

Using the words of Scripture to guide your prayer thoughts can be valuable in two ways. (1) It amplifies prayer as a conversation, with God's words intertwined with our words to Him. (2) Having an external guide to our prayer thoughts can jumble up our prayer ruts, so that every prayer does not sound like every other prayer. Of all Scripture, the Psalms make the best prayer guides because the Psalms represent the whole gamut of human emotions, and they are so dense and beautiful. Note: This is 2 short Sunday School lessons, recorded on July 18th and 25th of 2021.

I personally find prayer lists to turn my prayer life into a tedium, like a poorly run committee meeting. But it doesn't have to be that way. Prayer lists make it possible not to forget to prayer for things that we want to pray for. But feel free to trim and hone your prayer lists to make sure that the list serves as a tool to make your prayer life more vibrant, instead of a guilt trip about how much you aren't praying for. Note: This teaching was recorded on July 11, 2021.

Prayer is half of a "great conversation." God speaks to us in many ways, but primarily through the Word. So, when you read or study Scripture, you are hearing from God. Any conversation involves communication going both ways, and prayer is our vehicle to communicate with God. So I would encourage us all (I admit that prayer is a weak link in my faith) to invest time and effort into our prayer lives. Note: This teaching was recorded on June 17, 2021.

Before this series moves past Bible intake as a personal spiritual discipline, we need to address why there are so many translations of the Bible, especially in English. These translations are - for the most part - the work of solid scholarship and the translation that you read really is a legitimate translation of the Word of God. Note: This teaching was recorded on 6-20-2021, and the recording cuts out for a second a couple of times.

To study the Bible is a skill that cannot be completely mastered. There is always another layer, another angle, another untapped resource that can help an individual know and understand a passage of Scripture better. Therefore, the pressure is off. There will be no final test. And you aren't graded on a curve. You don't have to know more than me or your pastor or some Ph.D. in New Testament. Rather, meaningful Bible study is any process where the one who studies the Bible comes away with more genuine knowledge about the Bible than one can get by simply reading the passage once or twice. So, here's your encouragement to find your way to study the Bible well. Note: This teaching was recorded on 6-13-2021, and the recording cuts out for a second, occasionally.

We live in a day when we don't even memorize each others' phone numbers, because we don't have to. Memorization doesn't feel like a necessary skill, and it certainly doesn't feel like a vital spiritual discipline. But that is wrong. Scripture that is memorized is Scripture that can be meditated upon. And while it is difficult to remember even half of what you read, you remember 100% of what you memorize - by definition - as long as you consistently review what has been memorized.

The topic of meditation can be confusing for anyone whose conception of meditation is based on how eastern religions do it. But Scripture meditation is actually quite simple: Free your mind of distractions and choose to dedicate a certain amount of time to fill your mind with a certain Bible verse or set of verses, dedicating all your attention to understanding that verse. Note: This teaching was recorded on 5-23-2021, and there are several points where the recording cuts out for a second.

Holy Mole, it's episode #200! In our last Sunday School lesson, we discussed Bible reading plans, but it is important to understand that there is a wide variety of Bible reading plans, and your plan does not have to look at all like my Bible reading plan. Note: This teaching was recorded on May 16, 2021.

This episode is basically an argument for Bible-in-a-Year plans. However, there are other kinds of Bible reading plans. This episode ends with a bunny trail where I present a list of Bible books in what is roughly in chronological order. Note: This teaching was recorded on May 9, 2021. Also, there are several points where the recording cuts out.

A Christian must be investing the Word of God into their mind and their heart. Bible intake - including listening to, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating upon Scripture - is simply not negotiable. But there are a wide variety of strategies and tools to do this. HOW you invest Scripture into your life is largely up to you. WHETHER you invest Scripture into your life isn't optional. Note: This teaching was recorded on April 25, 2021.

This series is long enough to have two introduction lectures. So, before we dig into the individual personal spiritual disciplines, let us prepare ourselves to learn and grow. Note: This teaching was recorded on April 18, 2021.

This was one of the longest Sunday School series I ever taught. From Easter to Thanksgiving, we studied the personal spiritual disciplines, with Dr. Donald Whitney's book "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" as the primary source. Well, I suppose the Bible in the primary source, but you know what I mean! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Introduction to this series. Note: This teaching was recorded on April 11, 2021.

The Protoevangelium (Latin for "First Gospel") is the first Messianic prophecy found in the Bible. It is a pronouncement made by God regarding the serpent and the woman and curses that they receive because of the original sin in Eden. In Genesis 3:15, we are given the first distant glimpse of the coming of Christ, here called the seed of the woman. This sermon attempts to unpack this passage as much as possible, talking about Satan - here called the seed of the serpent - and his motivations. Note: This teaching was recorded on Halloween 2021.

Based on what is likely one of the earliest hymns created by and sung by the First Century Church, the Apostle Paul gives us a magnificent poem in Philippians chapter 2 verses 6 through 11. Paul uses this most poignant passage regarding the incarnation of God in the man Jesus Christ to encourage us to be more like Christ in humility and love. This poem/hymn in Philippian 2:6-11 is often called "The Carmen Christi," from the Latin phrase meaning "the song of Christ." Note: This teaching was recorded on 9-12-2021. Also, there are a few points where the recording cuts out.

As part of a Bite-Sized Theology series about families, I covered the topic of Family Reconciliation and also the topic of Adoption. These two short lessons are part of a larger whole that were taught by others, but I present you these two short lessons out of context.

King David is one of the most inspiring heroes in Scripture, and also one of the biggest screwups whose sin struggles have launched a million sermon series' worth of object lessons. In David's life, at least four times someone important in David's life called him out about an issue. Not every one of these rebukes was fair. Sometimes, a rebuke is simply wrong. But sometimes a timely rebuke is lifegiving. In David's story, we see times when he accepted a rebuke humbly, times he rejected a rebuke wisely, and times when he foolishly rejected a wise rebuke. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 25 July 2021.)

This is the finale of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on Easter Sunday, 4 April 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 28 March 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 21 March 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series over the Book of Daniel. This is also the final Sunday School lesson taught from home during COVID quarantine. Note: This teaching was recorded on 14 March 2021.

This podcast uses royalty-free music made available for public use by Pixabay. When and if an artist objects to the use of their work on this podcast, The Blue Collar Scholar will absolutely comply with the wishes of the artist. I respect the right for any creator to control the use of their I.P. (intellectual property). Therefore, The Blue Collar Scholar is introducing new opening and closing music: "Royalty Free Acoustic Guitar Summer Song" by LP Studio Music, from Pixabay.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 7 March 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded 28 February 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School Series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 21 February 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 14 February 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 7 February 2021.

This is the first in a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: this teaching was recorded on 31 January 2021.

Happy Mother's Day! This one is for any mother who fears that she is not a good mom. Statistically-speaking, it is unlikely that you are a failure as a mom. To illustrate this point, allow me to introduce you to three bad moms from the Bible: Sisera's mother, Athaliah, and Herodias. In these women, we see what it looks like to be a bad mom by instilling the value of violence into your son, or by causing harm to your own family for personal gain, or by manipulating those you love in order to hurt other people.

This is the final lecture of the 1960s class. This is a summary of many of the main themes. But this episode also digs into some topics - such as sports and entertainment - that we have not yet dealt with over the course of the semester. We conclude by examining how the Sixties are remembered.

Sixties Playlist: All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix (1968) For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield (1966) Fortunate Son by CCR (1969) The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (1964) Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds (1965) Lil’ Red Riding Hood by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs (1966) In My Room by The Beach Boys (1963) Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C. Riley (1968) Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers (1965) Aquarius by The 5th Dimension (1967)I Wanna Hold Your Hand by The Beatles (1963) San Francisco by Scott McKenzie (1967) People Are Strange by The Doors (1967) Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin (1969)Runaway by Del Shannon (1961) Be My Baby by The Ronettes (1963) Dead Man’s Curve by Jan & Dean (1963) Wild Thing by the Troggs (1966) Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys (1966) I Can’t Help Myself by The Four Tops (1965) California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & the Papas (1965) Second That Emotion by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1968) Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation by Tom Paxton (1965) Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes (1964) Louie Louie by The Kingsmen (1963) Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash (1963) Hey Jude by The Beatles (1968) Are You Lonesome Tonight? by Elvis Presley (1960) Bad Moon Rising by CCR (1969) The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixing-To-Die Rag by Country Joe the Fish (1967) The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan (1964) Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones (1966) Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (1969) Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond (1969) I’m a Believer by The Monkeys (1967) I Want You Back by the Jackson 5 (1969) I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye (1968) Ode to Billy Joe by Bobby Gentry (1967) Respect by Aretha Franklin (1967)Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf (1969) Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison (1964) Where Have All the Flowers Gone by The Kingston Trio (1961) Hooked on a Feeling by B.J. Thomas (1968) Devil with the Blue Dress by Mitch Ryder (1967) Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (1967) House of the Rising Sun by Animals (1963)It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones (1965) I Say a Little Prayer by Dionne Warwick (1964) The Name Game by Shirley Ellis (1965) The Ballad of the Green Berets by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler & Robin Moore (1966)

Yes, I know that the Watergate break-in and resulting scandal happened entirely in the early 1970s. But I contend that the Watergate scandal is the loss-of-innocence moment that represents the social/cultural shift from the Sixties to the Seventies, at least in the United States. This episode presents a timeline of events and examines the causes of Watergate, the events in question, the cover-up and scandal, and finally the fall out from the scandal.

The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a fierce rivalry in the 1950s and 1960s called the Space Race. Both the US & the USSR each achieved a variety of accomplishments in space travel, starting with the the successful orbit of the Soviet Sputnik satellite and culminating with the United States Apollo 11 program successfully putting 2 men on the moon. Of course, humanity would continue to make advancements in space travel and research from that point to today. This episode goes back thousands of years and tracks humanity's long-time obsession with human flight, all the way through the age of air travel, the Space Race, and the future potential of interstellar space travel.

This episode follows the various American women's rights movements back to the early 1800s up to the Women's Liberation Movement. From Suffrage to the Equal Rights Amendment, we examine the women who fought hard for women's rights in America, and how the women's rights movements intersected with other movements, such as the slavery abolition movement, alcohol temperance and prohibition, and the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement is a part of history so substantial, interesting, and important that it deserves its own class, or at least several lectures of a class. Foolishly, however, I will try to cover the entire Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. in a single lecture because we have so much in the 1960s to cover and so few remaining lectures to do so. To survey the Civil Rights Movement, we will take a look at over 30 individual men and women whose contributions to the Civil Rights Movement is invaluable and irreplaceable.

Four men occupied the Oval Office in the 1960s. Dwight D. Eisenhower held it for the first year and three weeks of the 1960s. Then John F. Kennedy served from 1961 to 1963. This episode of the pod focuses on the other two: Lyndon B. Johnson & Richard M. Nixon. This brief history will explain how each man's experience - including their humble childhood, education, limited WWII experience, extensive service in both houses of Congress, and service as Vice President for the two aforementioned Presidents - prepared them to lead the most powerful nation on Earth during the Cold War.

This episode is a closing argument for faith in Christ. I begin by assuring the doubter that doubt is normal, and that there are healthy and unhealthy ways to address doubt. The second half of the pod recaps some of the arguments for Christian faith that I find most persuasive. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 1-24-2021.)

For me, the argument against the existence of God that hits the hardest is the "Hiddenness of God." In other words, if God really exists, He seems to be trying to remain hidden, and that the universe that we live in is exactly the kind of universe that one would expect if there is no God. In this podcast episode, we will break down that argument, and show that God is not hidden, but rather Holy! (Note: This teaching was recorded on 1-17-2021.)

In our Church-in-Quarantine series from last summer (recorded Spring 2020), we dug into church history. This episode of the pod is much more of an brief overview. This episode lists a handful of aspects of church history that are shameful, and another list showing the immense positive value that the church has provided to human history. So, for those who object to Christian faith because of the history of Christianity, all I have to say is that, yes, Christian history is messy, but the church has been a driver of progress as well. (Note: This teaching was recorded 1-10-2021.)

Hell is easily one of the most controversial and off-putting doctrines in all of Christian theology. In fact, the reality of hell is an objection that many use to reject Christian faith. Is this a valid criticism? Do we even understand what heaven and hell really are? Dig in to this episode to find out. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 1-3-2021.)

This sermon was delivered right after Christmas 2020 and talks about the visit of the Magi in Matthew chapter 2. From that passage we learn that (1) God works through tragedy, (2) God intervenes to prevent tragedy, & (3) God’s plan is always pushing forward. (Note: this teaching was recorded on 12-27-2020.)

Yes, Christianity is an exclusive claim that can not countenance rival truth claims that deny that Jesus Christ is THE singular Savior. And yet, Christianity is the most inclusive faith, open to every single human who draws breath and bows the knee to Jesus as Lord. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12-27-2020.)

All roads lead to Heaven, or so we have been told. Yet, when Jesus talks about this, He says that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life (see John 14:6). So, we need to talk about the exclusive claims of Christianity. Is this a dealbreaker? Or is exclusivity proper for such a meaningful truth claim? (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12-20-2020.)

This episode is a presentation of the Gospel in short story form. The short story was written by Will Reitz, the teacher and the host of this podcast. I hope that you like it. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12/6/2020 & 12/13/2020.)

Can we trust that the testimony of Scripture accurately describes the historical events that it reports? And are there any considerations we should apply when interpreting Scripture so that this ancient text can speak to us today? In this pod episode, we will ask if the Bible is historical reliable and how to apply it. (Note: this teaching was recorded on 11-29-2020.)

If the Bible that we hold in our hand cannot be trusted, then the entire Christian faith falls like a house of cards. But the contention of this episode of the pod is that you can trust the reliability of the Holy Bible. (Note: this teaching was recorded 11-22-2020.)

When we read the Book of Joshua, passages about wiping out entire cities and villages really bother us. And these passages should bother us. But are there any aspects of these passages that we are missing? Are there any extenuating circumstances that make these passages easier to accept? Check out this episode and we will look into it. (Note: This teaching was recorded 11-15-2020.)