Pods and Rods: Recent Episodes
Bob Marlow
Planting Pods and Casting Rods, that's our motto. We enjoy studying The Bible and considering a different topic each episode. Our hope is to plant seeds in the hearts of the listener and cast the Word out as faithful fishers of men. And as you know, where two or more seeds gather . . . you got a pod! Add a reel and you got a podcast! Enjoy and please like, subscribe, and share with other Christians and seekers everywhere.
In this podcast, we take a look at the positive side of a person's associations. What are the benefits and blessings that come with being a faithful person of God as it relates to our family and friends?
Bad company corrupts good character, but we also must consider how the consequences of our actions can impact the people closest to us.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God--and the Word became flesh. This is how John begins his gospel account, which reveals several powerful truths. Join us as we discuss the realities of the diety of Christ.
As Christians, we recognize a responsibility to be good stewards--that is to say, we need to take care of and manage well the resources that God has placed in our care. That said, we also recognize that God has unlimited resources and wants us to put our resources to good use. Join us as we discuss finding the balance between spending, saving, and giving that would be in keeping with good stewardship.
From lotteries, to casinos, to sports betting, our society is obsessed with luck. We wish each other good luck all the time. But did you know the Bible does not use the word luck even once. Everyone wants to know are you feeling lucky? Join us as we discuss a different question--what does luck have to do with it?
The New Testament teaches that the body is the temple of the Lord. Join us as we discuss the implications of this reality. What is the temple and how does this impact the way we live our lives?
Often a sacrifice involved someone or something dieing, but Christians have been called to be living sacrfices. What does this involve and how can we be faithful to this charge?
You may have heard of the day of the Lord, but what is it, and when was it or is it something still to come. Join us as we discuss.
Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life. Join us we dive deeper into his call for us to eat his body if we hope to be sustained for eternal life.
One promise we have in scriptures is that we will suffer in this life, often for no other reason than we are God's elect. But this begs the age old question, why do bad things happen to good people and attitude should Christians have as we are going through difficult times?
You may have heard the term "original sin." You may even know the idea behind it. But where does this theological concept come from, does it have any merit, and what are the implications that it holds?
Did you know there are different ways of gaining knowledge? You can read something in a book, you can observe it with your own two eyes, or you can experience it for yourself. The deepest, most impactful type of knowledge is the kind that you experience it first hand. This is the type of knowledge Peter talks about in his writings. He should know since he had many unique experiences that set him up to become one of the Church's early pillars of faith. Join us as we talk about the importance of experiential knowledge.
Many of Jesus' parables have to do with the wheat and the weeds and how God handles each accordingly.
Jesus utilized a very specific teaching style, telling his disciples stories with a moral to His message. These stories are called parables and are very much intentional. But what makes these parables such an effective way to teach for Jesus? Join us as we discuss.
It's the million dollar question. We can discuss, debate, and and contemplate many aspects of Christianity and the Bible and most of the time they are not salvation issues. This question by its very nature is.
Proverbs is a great book filled with lots of wisdom and advice on many different aspects of life. One of those areas has to do with friendships. Join us as we discuss the value of true friendship.
The Bible recounts many times when God remembered His people. The fact that He remembers begs the question, can He forget? Should God remembering us bring us comfort or give us cause for concern?
Christians have a unique relationship with the world around us. Christ has called us to be in the world, but not of this world. We are not to conform to the world, but be transformed. On the same hand, we want to connect with the world and be all things to all men so as to save some. This begs the question, how do we define and navigate through the relationship between Christ and the culture we live in?
Hebrews 11 is known for a list of people who had great faith. Moses is listed in this number, where the scriptures say he valued the reproach of Christ more than the riches of Egypt. Join us as we discuss what this means.
Being enabled by the Spirit of God has been a common theme throughout the scriptures to help the people of God accomplish the will of God, usually for and to the glory of God. But does the Holy Spirit still give gifts to God's people today, and if so, what are they? Join us as we discuss.
When Jesus came onto the scene, John the Baptist was the biggest attraction around. But as more and more people followed Jesus, John's crowds shrunk. This would have made most people jealous, but not John. He recognized this was what was supposed to happen. Join us as we consider the truth behind John's wisdom that extends beyond his particular cirmstance.
We know Jesus Christ had to come and die for our sins. We know there is power in his blood to make us pure in God's sight. But have you ever wondered why blood is required for atonement? Join us as we consider this very question.
Being a faithful follower of Christ seems to be easier when everything is going well, but how does someone keep their faith strong when their world is crashing down all around them. Join us as for this episode when we talk about having faith when all else fails.
The question of when someone should seek their salvation has been one of great debate and divide for as long as the gospel message has been given. Join us as we discuss the many different perspectives that have been proposed and do our best to shed some light around this topic.
The Trinity refers to the nature of God that accounts for the three persons of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while also not compromising the clear distinction that the Lord, our God, is one. There are no other gods but Him. Join us for this podcast as we discuss how to understand the concept of the Trinity.
In 2 Thes, Paul encourages and exhorts Christians to live a quiet life and to aspire to live at peace with all men. Join us as we consider the implications and practicality of this in light of our responsibility to spread the good news.
Join us as we continue discussing the important role the Holy Spirit plays in our Christian walk.
The Holy Spirit is a vital promised part of our Christian walk. Join us as we discuss the several important roles He plays in our everyday lives.
Christians are saved by faith and faith alone. Any efforts on our behalf to be saved by our own merit is futile and even destructive. Yet scripture is clear that faith without works is dead. Join us as we discuss the relationship of how faith and works work together.
There doesn't seem to be much that makes God more angry than when He hears His people grumbling. Join us as we discuss why grumbling is such an egregious act.
Join us as we discuss the ramifications of Jesus declaring Himself the Vine and what it means for us to abide in Him.
One Universal Christian truth is that Jesus Saves. Still, scripture often speaks of our role in helping to save others. Join this episode as we discuss how Jesus saves and how he incorporates the church in that mission to save those who are lost.
We continue our discussion of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation with Thyatira and Sardis.
This is the exciting continuation of our discussion concerning the seven churches discussed in Revelation. We take a look at the church found in Smyrna, where Jesus praises their faithfulness. We also look at Pergamum, where Jesus gives a strong rebuke but also reason to hope.
All Christians get a special treat in the Book of Revelation when Jesus graces His church with His presence and a word to each of seven different congregations. What does Jesus think when he walks amongst His people and what does he have to say? This is what we take a look at in this episode of Pods and Rods.
One of the scariest scriptures in the Bible is when Jesus tells those who thought they had a relationship with him, to depart from him; he never knew them. How can you be sure that when the time comes, Jesus knows your name? Join us, as we discuss in this episode of Pods and Rods.
Join us as we continue to look at Nehemiah's desperate prayer and God's divine providential response.
Have you ever felt lost and alone . . . helpless and hopeless? Have you ever desperately wanted to get God's attention to act on your behalf? Nehemiah did, and God responded. Join us as we take a look at Nehemiah's prayer and approach to petitioning God in prayer.
Of all the miracles Jesus performed the one where Jesus had to touch the man twice might be the most intriguing. Why did Jesus have to touch the blind man twice before he was healed, and why did the man first see trees walking around before he could see clearly? Join us as we discuss.
2 Thes 2:7 says "For the mysterious power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. Join us as we discuss what is the mysterious power of lawlessness and who is it that is holding it back.
Sometimes Jesus and his disciples didn't always see eye to eye. That's because we are not on the same level and thus we don't have the same perspective.
In this episode, we discuss a facinating encounter of Jesus with His disciples, where Peter declares Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus commends Peter and calls him the rock. A few short verses later he call Peter Satan. What's going on here? The insights from this episode will shed a lot of light on this topic.
We know God commended Solomon and blessed him with the gift of wisdom. The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom and a foolish person. You'd be wise to join us as we dive into the ins and outs of wisdom.
What would Jesus do is a question that even popular culture has asked in years past. But what does Jesus think is a question we should all strive to consider in our own lives as we try to become more and more like Christ every day.
Salvation is often presented as a free offer, but it's far from being cheap. It's been made available at a great cost, and you will find it demands you to give up all that you have. Join us for this episode as we discuss counting the cost of becoming a disciple of Christ.
The definition of marriage has changed over recent years and from its traditional role in society. In this episode, we take a look at what marriage originally looked like when God designed it.
What is holiness and what makes God holy? We discuss what it means to be holy and our call, as Christians, to be holy as our Heavenly Father is Holy.
The disciples of Jesus were curious how to get ahead in Heaven. Jesus gave advice that if you want to be great, you must be the least. He exhort that we should all store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven. This podcast dives into the subject and considers the question, how can we be great in Heaven?
This episode spends time discussing the power of prayer, but also considers how we can make our prayers even more powerful.
A continuation of our discussion concerning the reality of the spiritual war that's going on and our role in it.
How can we strive to perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect when we are such imperfect beings?
In Phillipians, Paul warns the Church to be aware of enemies of the cross. How can we identify these enemies and what can we do to guard against them?
Jesus said we know the way to where he is going. In this podcast, we discuss what is "the way" and how do we know how to get there?
Jesus teaches us to pray in secret and not on the street corners, but we are also not to shy away from praying publicly . . . so what's a Christian to do?
Jesus said we know they way to where he is going. We discuss what is "the way" and how do we know how to get there?
We know that Communion is one of the most important and sacred aspects of the Church that we have the opportunity to participate in. But when Jesus offered his body and blood to his followers, many of them were offended and followed him no more. So what is eating of Christ's body and drinking his blood all about and why is it so important? Join us for this episode as we discuss.
Join Bob Marlow and Mark Pasquarelli as they discuss the state of faith in Christians today and what it means to live by faith.
In this episode we discuss an interesting encounter Jesus has with a man that had been blind from birth. When Jesus has the man receive his sight, it causes a lot of chaos and questions from those who witnessed the miracle. But it's Jesus questioning of the man, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" that we will consider and the man's response, "Tell me who he is?"
We learn in the Love Chapter, I Corinthians 13, that Love Never Fails. This is professed at weddings all over on a weekly basis. This week we dive into the fullness of this truth. What's it mean that love never fails?
Paul speaks of being given a thorn in the flesh that tormented him and he prayed that God would take it away. We don't know exactly what that thorn was, but we know that Christ did not remove it and told Paul that his grace is sufficient. Join us as we discuss what the thorn of the flesh is and how it is that Christ's grace is sufficient.
The Good Word speaks often about truth. We know that Jesus declares that he is the Truth. But in a would of white lies, your truth, and half truths what more can we learn about what the Bible ways about what is Truth?
There's a lot of thoughts and imagery that is suggested when we pass on from this place. Join us as we discuss what we should expect next!
It's a question we may not talk about often, but it's something that stays in the back of most people's minds. What's next? What happens to us when we die? Do we go straight to Heaven, or somewhere else? Do we go to sleep for a time, to a waiting room until our judgment day appearance? Do we become angels, ghosts, spectators, or do we even continue to exist? Will we remember this life? So many questions that we do not know the answers to, but we will discuss what clues we gain from scriptures in this episode which is a two part series.
The world seems like it's in big trouble, and Jesus warned his followers that in this world we would have troubles. But he also encouraged us to take heart, he has come to overcome the world! How are Christians different from our worldly counterparts?
We know that God is patient and long suffering, not wanting anyone to perish. This episode discusses how it is that God reveals Himself to the world and to His people.
How does God get our attention and how does God speak to us? And maybe more importantly, are we listening? These are the questions we discuss in this episode, specifically looking at Elijah's experience when he was on the run from Jezebel.
The Gospel of John starts out saying, "In the beginning was the word, and the word became flesh." The Greek word for word in this passage is logos and has a deep philosophical meaning that we are going to discuss and breakdown, as we consider what does it mean that the word became flesh?
You may have heard it said that words are cheap, and in a way they are. But words are extremely powerful and meaningful. Join us as we consider the weight of our words.
In Romans 14, Paul gives Christians instructions on how to handle conflict between people who disagree on what is and is not appropriate behavior as a follower of Christ. We discuss this in depth and consider matters such as who is the weaker brother and how do we give up our liberty to not be a stumbling block and at the same time do not let our good be spoken of as evil?
As Christians, we are taught not to throw stones, but what if someone else is throwing stones at us. In the case of King David he allowed the stones to keep coming because he felt it was the will of God. Please join us as we discuss what's going on and how are we to respond when the stones are hurled our way.