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Understanding Scripture and the role of the Church in the 21st Century. We will wrestle with the Kingdom of God, the mission of God’s people, and how this applies to the Church in the 21st Century
Episodes
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Rob and Vinnie hosted two Russian Christian ("Daniel" and "Isaiah") as well to two former missionaries in Russia (Phil and Sacha Opperman) to discuss the Church in Russia, the war and its impact, and how we as Christians can support our brothers and sisters in Christ during this time.
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NB: our goal is to keep these posts free of charge. I do not intend to ever hide them behind a paywall. I can only do this if those of you who have been blessed by them and can afford to give ($5, $10, $25, or more/month) do so. You can give a tax-deductible contribution by following this link.
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Rob and Vinnie walk through Matt chapters 10-20 to provide some context for understanding the text. How do we understand Jesus' teachings and Matthew's gospel?
Listen in to find out more.
NB: we apologize that the audio quality is not to our standards. We have fired all those responsible and will see to it that it never happens again! JK. But we do apologize!
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this Rob’s determinetruth site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Rob and Vinnie interview Bruce Fisk, PhD to discuss the Gospel of Matthew and the question of Jesus and the Jews. What does it mean that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT for the Jewish people and the land of Israel. Were the early Christians antisemitic? Join us for a conversation with former Westmont Profession and senior research fellow for the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East.
Here is a link to Bruce's book: Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus
To follow Bruce and NEME follow this link to the NEME website
or their Facebook page
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this Rob’s determinetruth site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Rob and Vinnie walk through the Sermon on the Mount discussing what it meant then and how it applies now. What is fasting? Am I sinning because I am anxious? Does God promise me everything as long as I "ask, seek, and knock"?
Tune in to the full episode as we venture to understand Jesus' most famous sermon.
here is the link to Rob's post on Justice in the OT
For some good resources to continue processing the Sermon on the Mount and the church today see:
Radical by David Platt
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this Rob’s determinetruth site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Rob and Vinnie take a moment to put some reflections on the recent war in Ukraine and to offer some thoughts as to what the Church should be doing in the midst of this war.
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
This week Rob and Vinnie attempt to put the Sermon on the Mount in its context in the Gospel of Matthew and how it serves as the new Law (in fulfillment of the Old) for the new people of God.
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this Rob’s determinetruth site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
In this episode, Rob and Vinnie continue the discussion on how to understand the Gospel of Matthew. Today they look at Matthew's use of the OT and how He found Jesus in what might appear to be strange places and how Matthew saw Jesus living out the story of Israel.
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Rob and Vinnie discuss how to read and understand the Gospel of Matthew. They address Matthew's connections to the Old Testament and what it means that Jesus is "Immanuel"
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Good news: If you wish to view these podcasts on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and they will automatically load.
If you would like to have Rob and/or Vinnie speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this Rob’s determinetruth site.
If you have questions that you would like addressed in future episodes, you may submit them in the Contact me tab on this site.
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Monday Feb 07, 2022
This is session 6 and the final lesson in a study that Rob lead on understanding the Kingdom of God, the mission of God's people, and Justice. In this study, we look at the issue of Justice in the NT. What is God's mission? In order for the people of God to be faithful, we must understand what God's mission is. Then we must ask: What is Justice? And what is the relationship between Justice and the Kingdom of God? And what does it mean for you and me? Here is the outline that Rob was teaching from
The kingdom of God comes through the Cross
The cross of Christ is the epitome of love for which we are called to emulate. The cross was also the moment of Jesus’ coronation. There is little question that the gospels want us to view the crucifixion of Jesus as the moment of His becoming King.
We begin by noting that the charge against Jesus for which He was crucified was that He was “the king of the Jews” (Matt 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19). The dialogue between Jesus and Pilate and the account of the crucifixion in the Gospel of John makes it clear that Jesus was crucified for claiming to be the king (see: John 18:36-19:22). Before the cross, they dressed Him in purple, clearly intending to mock Him for claiming to be the king (Mark 15:17; John 19:2). And they placed a crown of thorns on His head (Matt 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2).
Jesus established the kingdom of God in His death. It was through His death and resurrection that Jesus defeated the kingdoms of the world.
Jesus had to defeat death in order to establish the kingdom of God. After all, death exemplifies the kingdoms of the world. Thus, Paul claims: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:55-57).
If the kingdom of God is love, and, if the greatest demonstration of love is to lay down one’s life for the other, then it only stands to reason that we affirm that Jesus established His kingdom on the cross.
Jesus calls His people to be kings/queens
There remains only one more significant point to add: Namely, if Jesus told His disciples that He was making them kings: “just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you” (Luke 22:29); and, if the people are also called by the Father to be kings and queens[1] in His kingdom (Rev 1:5; 5:10), after all we are coheirs with Jesus (Rom 8:17); and, if that kingdom is Christ’s kingdom (which we assume that it is since we will sit on the same throne as Christ: Rev 3:21); then does it not stand to reason that we too are crowned the same way that He was? That is, by way of the cross.
That this is the case is affirmed by Jesus in Rev 3:21: “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” We too are crowned as kings and queens and will sit on His throne when we overcome[2] the same way that He did.
How is it that Jesus overcame? The way in which Jesus overcame is through death: “one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain” (Rev 5:5-6). The book of Revelation is clear: Jesus is the Lion (the king), but He became such by being the Lamb that was slain.
When Jesus says to “follow me” He means that we too are to lay down our lives for the sake of the nations just like He did.
What does this mean?
This means that the kingdom of God, which has begun in Christ and is carried forth by His church, was established on justice. That is what the cross was. It was Christ establishing a kingdom of righteousness (justice) by sacrificially dying. When Jesus says, “follow me,” He means that we are to lay down our lives for the sake of the nations.
Justice, or in NT terms, love applied, is the pillar on which the kingdom was established. Justice, or love applied, is the fundamental ethic of God’s people.
Conclusion
Righteousness and justice in the NT are absorbed into Jesus’ ethic of love. For Jesus, love looks like what righteousness and justice were intended to be. It looks like the person who is willing to disadvantage themselves for the sake of the other. Jesus takes this principle and fulfills it.
When it comes to love, Jesus intensifies it in two ways. First, He extends it from God to one’s neighbor and from one’s neighbor to one’s enemies. Secondly, for Jesus, a willingness to disadvantage oneself for the sake of the other meant that one was willing to die for one’s enemies.
It is essential to grasp that the nature of the Christian life is to be characterized by a love for one’s enemies and that this love is epitomized by a willingness to lay down one’s life for the other, just as Christ did!
What does this mean for Christians when it comes to the issues of justice? It means that too often we have been approaching the issues as though they were only matters of right and wrong. For Jesus, justice is not a topic to be debated, but an ethic to be lived.
Read my blog on the Jesus and the poor
Understanding the nature of the Kingdom of God/Justice in the NT
John 13:35 ___________________ is the essential feature of the kingdom of God
John 15:13 Love ____________________________ for the other
- Cross was/is a central feature of the kingdom of God
- Mark 8:27-34
Mark 6:38 Love includes______________________: economic
Mark 6:35 Love those who are poor and marginalized is what _____________________
Jesus’ miracles were signs of the kingdom of God
- A prelude of what is to come (John 11)
- Focused on social and economic restoration (Luke 7)
Deut 15:1-11
- Poor you will always have
Acts 4:32-37
- Acts 4:34: Deut 15:4
[1] There is no need not to be gender inclusive here since clearly men and women are crowned and authorized to rule in the kingdom of God.
[2] The Greek word nikao (“overcome”) may be translated as “conquer” also. In the book of Revelation The NAS translates nikao with some form of “overcome” throughout Revelation with only the following exceptions: 6:2 “conquering” and “to conquer”; and, 15:2 “victorious.” The NIV translates nikao as “overcome” less consistently: exceptions include, 5:5 “triumphed”; 6:2 “conqueror” and “bent on conquest”; 11:7 “overpower”; 13:7 “to conquer”; 15:2 “victorious”; and 17:4 “conquer.” The ESV is the most consistent. It uses some form of the word “conquer” throughout the book of Revelation. See chapter 3 of my Follow the Lamb.
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
This is session 5 of a study that Rob is leading on understanding the Kingdom of God, the mission of God's people, and Justice. What is God's mission? In order for the people of God to be faithful, we must understand what God's mission is. Then we must ask: What is Justice? And what is the relationship between Justice and the Kingdom of God? And what does it mean for you and me?
Here is the outline that Rob was teaching from
“The righteous (ṣaddîq) are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.” Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 (p. 97). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.
- By doing so they would become an exemplar to the nations (Deut 4:5-8)
- Deut 10:12-19: walk in all His ways
- Shows no partiality
- Accepts no bribes
- Defends the cause of the fatherless and widow
- Loves the alien
Note: election is missiological and not merely soteriological
Please "follow" this podcast, give a review on iTunes or Spotify and share it with others so that we can get the word of the Gospel of the Kingdom to more people!
Please share this podcast and let others know about determinetruth.
If you have been blessed by this podcast and would like to see others benefit too, would you please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to support determinetruth ministries and make possible future podcasts like this? You may give a tax-deductible gift by following this link