The Brooks Podcast: Recent Episodes
Brooks Szewczyk
To read the full blog post, click here.
This episode is an expository sermon on Romans 15:14 preached in June 2022 at Cornerstone Community Church.
"I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." – Romans 15:14-16
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with me here.
To read the full blog post, click here .In this podcast, we go over the definition, scope, and importance of the Sufficiency of Scripture."You know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:15-17Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with me here.
If you read the Old Testament without seeing Christ, you've misunderstood the Old Testament.
In this episode, we are joined by Nick Mattei, a seminary student at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Nick has a strong theological mind and a pastoral heart to show the glory of Jesus through all of the Bible.
Nick unfolds biblical principles of hermeneutics to help equip all of us to see the glory of Christ in the Bible.
In an earlier episode, Brooks and Logan Kane discussed Biblical Theology, a related concept. Click here to view that episode.
Recommended Resources:
- The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation: From the Early Church to Modern Practice by Keith D. Stanglin
- The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? by Michael Rydelnik
- Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition: Recovering the Genius of Premodern Exegesis by Craig A. Carter
- Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method by Sidney Greidanus
- The Unfolding by Timothy Brindle
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with us here.
Politics is permeating our minds and lives.
If you're on social media, you can attest to the obsession that our culture currently has with politics.
And we have a unique opportunity right now to participate in government in a way that has seldom existed in the past.
As Christians, we have to ask – how should we engage in politics? What does the Bible tell us to do?
This introduces two biblical categories:
- Submitting to The Government
- Disobeying The Government
Pastor Shawn Powers joins us to walk through what the Bible teaches us about politics and why it is important.
Pastor Powers is a pastor at Redemption Hill Church in Waukee, IA. He has an M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Th.M. from St. John's University.
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with us here.
Christ's love for the church is different than his love for the word.
God has a general love for the world. It's why every person has the opportunity to repent and believe. It's why God's air is in all of our lungs.
But God has a special love for his church. He gave his life for her and committed to working all things for her good.
Pastor Coulter Conner joins us to discuss what the Bible teaches about the love of God and what it means for us.
This will help us gain a deeper appreciation for God's grace to us. And we will see how this doctrine has major implications for many other doctrines.
Check out the book None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God by Matthew Barrett that was mentioned in the episode.
Pastor Coulter Conner is a pastor at Christ's Church of Labette County in Kansas, and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with us here.
Many of us have been learning the Doctrines of Grace wrong.
The doctrines of grace rely on a particular understanding of the person of God.
You can't start with TULIP before deeply understanding God's sovereignty, holiness, love, and immutability of God.
In this episode, Pastor Jeremiah Hurt joins us to discuss how the character of God is indispensably foundational to a proper understanding of the Doctrines of Grace.
We also discuss some common misconceptions about Calvinism that stem from a misunderstanding of the attributes of God.
Pastor Jeremiah Hurt is a church planter and pastor at Reforming Truth Church in Lexington, KY. He is a faithful gospel teacher and shepherd of the flock of God.
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with us here.
Dr. Alan Branch joins in this episode to discuss the history of abortion and biblically consider how Christians should understand it.
I highly recommend Dr. Branch's book Born This Way?: Homosexuality, Science, and the Scriptures and his other book Affirming God's Image: Addressing the Transgender Question with Science and Scripture.
We look into the history of abortion in history from ancient times until the present day, examining how the current movement has progressed over the last 50 years.
Listen to this episode to hear Dr. Branch give us 3 practical ways to respond to the abortion movement in a biblical way.
Resources Recommended by Dr. Branch:
- Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Ethics and the Beginning of Human Life by Dr. Megan Best
- Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice by Francis Beckwith
Dr. Branch is the Professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Research Fellow of Christian Ethics at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Please leave a review of this episode with your honest thoughts or share any comments with us here.
The Sabbath is a biblical concept seen in both testaments in the Bible. But how does it apply to our lives today? Must the New Testament believer observe the Sabbath day?
In this episode, we go over the textual history of the Sabbath and attempt to give a New Testament understanding of it. This episode is a little more technical and exegetical than usual, so we will be diving into three biblical passages on the idea of the Sabbath.
You must be a theologian. Theology is the foundation of our lives as Christians. And the Bible calls it a sin to be theologically lazy.
- Is it important to study theology deeply?
- Are some theological topics more important than others?
- Are there any unimportant theological topics?
- Can you be a healthy Christian without deep theology?
Read good books, memorize the Word, think rationally, and study diligently. This is the Bible's command.
Main Passage: Hebrews 5:11-14
P.s. Thanks for getting the podcast accepted by Spotify! Please send any comments or questions you have here. I'd love to hear from you.
If you haven't heard the news already, Benny Hinn spoke out against the prosperity gospel that he has championed for so long. I've heard so many takes from different sides, and I think I have some things here that have yet to be said.
- What is repentance?
- Did Benny Hinn repent?
- How should a Christian respond?
All of this and a little more on this episode of The Brooks Podcast.
We discuss the relationship between the Christian and the local church. Many of us neglect the importance of the local church in our walk with Christ. Why is it so important for me to go to church? Is it important that I'm involved? Can I do ministry outside of the church?
We are joined by Logan Kane in this episode to discuss biblical theology.
What is biblical theology? How is biblical theology different from systematic theology? How do you do good biblical theology? Why is biblical theology important?
We'll try to answer all of those questions and have some fun on this episode of the podcast. We just got back from a 9Marks conference, and we'll discuss points that were made by such speakers as Ligon Duncan, Owen Strachan, and Jonathan Leeman.
Please leave a review and share with you friends if you enjoyed the episode.
Episode 5 - Poverty has become a great issue in the United States and even more across the globe. What is the responsibility of the church in addressing this issue? Should Christians give their money to the poor? What does the Bible say about giving to the homeless? We look to God for answers to these questions. Stream this episode to go with us through the Bible and see what God has had to say on this issue.
Episode 4 - In this episode, we are joined by Logan Kane, a seminarian who is currently an intern at Redemption Hill Church in Des Moines, IA.
We answer the question "Is it God's will for people to be sick?"
Short answer: God does sometimes will sickness for his elect, but never eternally. Even sickness is used for our good and God's glory. But that doesn't necessarily mean he delights in it.
Listen in to this conversation with Brooks Szewczyk and Logan Kane.
In this episode we are joined by Shawn Powers to discuss common misconceptions regarding the theological system of Calvinism.
Powers has his MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and MTh from St. John's University. He has been a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Burnsville, MN and is now transitioning to plating a church in Des Moines, IA. You can find more information on the church plant at redemptionhilldsm.org.
Derek Brokke, the dean of men at Bethany Global University, joins us in this episode to discuss ways that men can be preparing to meet the qualifications of eldership before they are fulfilling an office of ministry.
Epidode 1. This is the first episode of the Brooks podcast. We begin with basic introductions before moving into the question "How do you respond when someone asks you how they can be saved?"