So I Was Reading...: Recent Episodes
Greg Ryan
The “So I Was Reading…” podcast is hosted by Greg Ryan, Associate Pastor of Faith Bible Church in Mechanicsville, MD. Formerly a Theistic Agnostic, Pastor Greg came to know Jesus Christ later in life after a decade long search for truth. Unable to deny the true God any longer, Greg gave his life to the study and teaching of God’s Word, first to the youth of FBC, then to the church body in general. In this podcast, Greg merely reflects on a passage of scripture he read during his quiet time in the past week, relating to us the lessons he learns as he spends time in the Word.
As Pastor Greg transitions into a new position that requires more of his time at present, the So I Was Reading Podcast will temporarily be put on hold until some future date that has yet to be determined. We want to thank everyone who has been listening, and look forward to when we can do this again
Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you; may His face shine upon you; may He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Pastor Greg delves into Psalm 5 and talks about David’s trust in the Lord even when it seems – at least at first glance – that God might not actually be paying attention to his plight at the hands of powerful foes. David – like many people today – asks God if he has His ear, but – unlike many today – David shows that he knows the answer to his own question.
In this week’s episode, Pastor Greg reflects on King David’s sickness in Psalm 38, and discusses David’s lament that, when deathly ill, he is unable to stand against his enemies – and ultimately those who oppose God - who attack him for no reason. Greg equates the situation to Jesus’ trial and execution, as well as to the attacks we face when we are weakened by sickness, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
In episode 33 of the “So I Was Reading” Podcast, Pastor Greg is told to read Romans 5:1-11 where he is reminded that we have gained peace with God through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus. Throughout history, men and women have tried to introduce obstacles to block us from approaching Jesus, our Christ, our Way to the Father, and Greg notes that these obstacles are unbiblical and are actually denounced by scripture which clearly reveals Jesus as the Way to the Father, and that we need no other way to reach Jesus.
Today’s scripture reading of Deuteronomy 13:1-4 prompts Pastor Greg to consider the questions, If the God of the Bible is really the One, True God, then why are there so many options out there? and then the logical follow up, What exactly does it mean to “love God” anyway?
In today’s podcast Pastor Greg reads Luke 8:22-25 to address Jesus’s questioning of His disciples’ faith as they faced a literal life-threatening storm, then poses the same question of faith to us as we each encounter the sometimes literal, sometimes figurative storms in our own lives.
Pastor Greg reads Deuteronomy 10:12-22 and contemplates the meaning of “circumcising the heart,” the reason for the practice of covenantal circumcision, and how the physical act of circumcision is an incredibly fitting symbol for a life – male or female - committed to God and to His kingdom.
This week’s podcast “focuses” on Mark 5:21-32 and discusses the chief priests’ and scribes’ statement that they would believe that Jesus is the Christ if He save Himself from the cross. Pastor Greg takes us on a walk through Isaiah and Leviticus to show that this statement makes no sense in the context of the very scripture they know and teach, and that sometimes we may be guilty of doing the same thing – of demanding a “proof” that wouldn’t be a proof at all.
In episode 27, Pastor Greg looks at the story of Ruth and learns that sometimes God’s answer to our prayers is actually right in front of us in our own mirrors.
In today’s scripture reading of Deuteronomy 7:16-26, Pastor Greg looks at one of the different ways God will sometimes answer prayer and recognizes that, because of His omniscience and our limited view, we just have to trust that He knows what He’s doing even when we don’t understand what He’s doing, and He knows why He’s doing it the way He is even when we think we have a better way.
In the first episode of Season 2 of the “So I Was Reading” Podcast, Pastor Greg dives into the book of John, his favorite book, and looks at chapter 14, verses 15-27. He looks at the question of how it is that Jesus reveals Himself to His followers but not to the world, and why ‘the world’ doesn’t understand that Jesus does still reveal Himself to His followers even though they, the world, can’t see it... It should all make sense after you listen.
Today’s podcast recounts the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites as retold by Moses in Deuteronomy 5. Greg reads verses 22-29, and looks at the Israeli response to hearing God’s voice, and then briefly discusses what it means to hear His voice today.
In this week’s episode of “So I Was Reading,” Pastor Greg reads Ephesians 2:21-22 and looks at the Temple of God, both the brick-and-mortar version of the temple and the living-stone version. If you don’t know what that means, then today’s podcast is probably for you.
Mark 10:46-52 relates the tale of Blind Bartimaeus, and Pastor Greg contemplates Jesus’ instruction to him to “Go his own way,” as well as what this command means to us today.
In this episode of “So I Was Reading,” Pastor Greg reads Colossians 3:1-17 and contrasts how the world wants to divide us with how Christ, who is our Life, wants to unite us and give us an new identify as one in the image of our Creator.
Pastor Greg reads Malachi 3:14-18 and looks at the sins of pride and arrogance that are natural by-products of spiritually idle hands and feet.
Today, Pastor Greg reads Mark 9:33-37 and talks about what it means to do things “In Jesus’ Name,” and why it is so important to do things “In Jesus’ Name.”
In todays podcast, Greg reads 2 Timothy 3:1-7 and 4:1-5 and discusses the imperative of sharing the Good News of the Gospel whether anybody—even you—wants you to or not, because someday “too late” will be a reality.
Pastor Greg revisits his thoughts on Romans 6:8-11 that he shared at FBC’s Easter Sunrise Service, discussing the importance and meaning of what it means to truly die—and, conversely then, what it means to truly live—as exemplified by Jesus Himself.
In this episode of “So I Was Reading,” Pastor Greg looks at Mark 8 and Jesus’s warning about where we place our allegiance: on the actual Christ, or on some false-christ of our own creation that is only loosely based on the actual Christ.
We’ve probably all heard the phrase, “Love Is Love,” but a quick glance at a dictionary shows it’s not quite that simple, and a deep dive into Greek shows it’s not that simple at all! Join Pastor Greg as he looks into the meaning of the love of 1 Corinthians 13.
Pastor Greg reads Mark 7:27-29 and contemplates the eating habits of children, noting that maybe we share a bit more in common with the dogs under the table than we previously had realized.
This week Pastor Greg reads Mark 6:1-5 and discusses Jesus’s visit to His home town and observes the simple reason why He couldn’t do amazing and wonderful things while He was there.
Pastor Greg reads James 1 and identifies the orphans and widows in our world, then discusses the Way to look after them, and now wonders if you can figure out the answer that he comes up with from the hint in this episode description. {Hint for the Hint: Look at the words that are capitalized.]
In the decaepisode of the “So I Was Reading” podcast, Pastor Greg returns to the book of Numbers and analyzes the rebellion, pride, willful forgetting, and simple denial of Korah and the Israelites in chapter 16, and unfortunately, finds an all-too applicable and appropriate lesson for us today.
Pastor Greg treads lightly upon the topics of both God’s wrath as well as His blessings as he discusses our role in and response to that wrath and/or those blessings as he reads and contemplates Psalm 90.
In this episode, Pastor Greg reads Mark 1:32-34 and contemplates the reason why Jesus wouldn’t let demons testify to the truth that He, Jesus, was in fact the Holy One of God, the incarnate God, the Savior of mankind.
Pastor Greg discusses the phenomena of people adopting complaints and attitudes that don’t reflect their own actual experiences as displayed in both Numbers 11:4-6 as well as in modern society in Episode 7 of “So I Was Reading…”
In the 6th installment of “So I Was Reading,” Pastor Greg looks at Luke 12: 51-52 and discusses the implications of misinterpretations and misapplications of Jesus’ character and the implications those misinterpretations and misapplications will have on individuals when Jesus returns at the end of the age.
In this week’s “So I Was Reading,” Pastor Greg reflects on Psalm 10 and asks—and attempts to give an answer to—the question, “What is my role in the battle against darkness?”
In this episode, Pastor Greg studies the light in Luke 11:33-36 and reflects on the importance of employing a proper hermeneutic to truly understand and accurately share who Jesus Christ really is and what the True Gospel really means.
In this installment of "So I Was Reading...," Pastor Greg talks about Genesis 24 and answers the question, “Why do we even pray if God already knows what the future brings?”
Pastor Greg reflects on Genesis 8:21 and how God’s promise to never again pour out His wrath to destroy all living things points to our hope of a miraculous salvation despite our inherent sin nature.
Pastor Greg welcomes you to the first installment of the So I Was Reading… podcast by introducing the S.O.A.P. study technique, then using it to look into Luke 1:76-79 and our relationship to the message and mission of John the Baptist.