GOOD WORDS: Mining gold, sailing bold to then, now & "when?": Recent Episodes
Owen Kindig
The gold in the Bible hides deep, beyond a treacherous sea. To cross safely to its warm, sunny shores, we'll have to brave headwinds and fight many an angry wave. Join us in Peter's ship on the way to Shiloh's goldmines.
Could the ancient struggles and prophecies of Israel hold the keys to a future where peace reigns supreme? Join us as we traverse the spiritual and geopolitical landscapes that have defined Israel's place in history, and ponder whether current events could be signaling the fulfillment of biblical prophecies. With a compassionate eye, we consider the tribulations faced by both Israelis and Palestinians, and the role of the international community in shaping media narratives.
In this episode, we take you through a journey from the past to the prophetic future of the Middle East. From the covenant of the Israelites with God under Moses's guidance to their profound societal contributions, we explore the historical tapestry that has been woven through conflict, discipline, and resilience. We scrutinize the prophecies of Ezekiel 38, decoding potential alliances and adversaries, and discuss the intricate dynamics between Israel and nations like Iran and Yemen. The tensions surrounding Jerusalem, a sacred city to many faiths, are also dissected, along with the diplomatic endeavors to broker peace, including the commendable efforts of President Carter.
As we conclude, our heartfelt respect for the Jewish people and their prophetic destiny shines through. Embracing the scriptural promise of a miraculous epoch to come, we invite listeners to engage with the Israeli narrative with empathy and a desire for understanding. This episode is a tapestry of admiration, prophecy, and a shared hope for a time when all will celebrate the realization of ancient promises. Join us as we navigate these complex topics, seeking wisdom and insight into one of humanity's most enduring stories.
It is Nearfocuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.
"Even the bad news is good news."
Thirty-one years ago we took on an emergency family project -- we wrote a point for point rebuttal of a full page newspaper ad placed by Holocaust denier Bradley Smith in the Ohio State Lantern. In this podcast, I read the article we wrote, which was also published at the University of Michigan and other places where Smith had spread his lies. Objective truth is often the only way to challenge lies -- especially when the lies are bold, outrageous, and dangerous.
After a summer break, this episode marks the first in a new series of episodes that will explore significant areas of disagreement about what is true. We will try to avoid the common pitfall of painting those who disagree with us as the ones who are liars or believing falsehoods. But we will discuss all the tools we have for determining the truth of a claim. We will call in question what Christians have been doing lately, and attempt to contrast our cultural norms with what the Bible says in its writings about law, ethics, character, and prophecy.
It is Nearfocuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.
"Even the bad news is good news."
Owen Kindig has a man to man conversation on what the Bible says about Hell with J. Murray Murdoch, emeritus professor of History at Cedarville University. Their viewpoints could not be more different, but their respect for the Bible and each other is profound. Enjoy this earnest and honest comparison of viewpoints on the most important themes of the Bible: what is faith, what is the gospel, what is salvation, and what are the genuine, biblical hopes for life and salvation for all people on planet earth?
In this episode we discuss what the Bible says about "judgment", "sleep", "the soul", "hell", "the second death", and many other concepts spoken of by Jesus, the apostles, the prophets, and all the writers of the Bible.
It is Nearfocuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.
"Even the bad news is good news."
We all live in a tent city. Temporary, half-baked, unfixable. But the vision of Abraham persists. "A City with foundations". Many long for it. Is it a vain hope? An impossible dream? The end of death; a global resurrection.
Even the findings of physics and astronomy -- that all the heavier atoms that make life possible, literally came from heaven to earth. Supernovas that happened billions of years ago sowed the seeds of human life and flourishing.
How strange, then, that the final vision of the Bible shows a completed city, made of one of the heaviest metals (metaphorically) descending to earth, with God and man to be reunited and reconciled?
We keep walking down this path, examining evidence as we go....
It is Nearfocuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.
"Even the bad news is good news."
Who wants to live in a tent? Millions don't have a choice. But Abraham did and today we'll find out why. Something permanent is coming ... and it is near. This wide-ranging episode looks at migrants, including the recent ship full of them who were lost at sea. We also explore Abraham, who preferred tents to Lot's "permanent" city.
Then our journey takes us to the subject of faith, and a definition of this elusive way of thinking that will surprise you. And to illustrate the footsteps of God,, hidden in plain sight, we'll trace tragedies that haunt the Jewish people across the centuries -- and yet simultaneously provide reassurance of the destiny of joys and blessings that await them.
It is Nearfocuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.
"Even the bad news is good news."
Two Christians have a calm, respectful discussion about a topic they profoundly disagree about. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And maybe, impossible? Murray grew up in orthodoxy, Owen grew up as a heretic. But they are good friends and brothers in Christ: and whichever side you are rooting for, you might learn something!
Talk about grabbing a tiger by the tail. "It is Near" launches with an overview of challenges we all face and blessings humanity can expect. Touching on Matthew 24 and 2 Peter 3, we glimpse an ocean of mysteries and baffling issues that have most people wondering. This goal-setting podcast is relevant to every thinking person -- the problems we all face, and the beliefs we must put to the test.
Are you open to considering outside input about your attitudes? Most people are. Christians are by definition -- willing, even eager to know God's will and guidance regarding all of their thoughts and motivations.
That's the defining message of Christian discipleship, as described by Paul in Romans 12:1,2 -- and the focus of this message: how to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind".
It is a radical commitment to surrender -- not to any human preacher or sect or group-think, but to the word of God as revealed in us and to us by the circumstances of our life. With practical insight, earnest exhortation and conciliatory humor, this message explores four things that God gives his children who follow Jesus. It enumerates 5 specific attitude adjustments we are all called to embrace. And in a personal testimony it the end it identifies three devices God uses as means of grace to help us when we give our hearts to him: the pressures of necessity, the discovery of our own inadequacy through failure, and the good influence of fellowship with other believers. Though the sermon started in the past, it is finished in the present, and it contemplates a glorious future, not only for Christians whom God is preparing now, but also the entire world of mankind who are promised blessing and guidance in the future.
On her 21st birthday, Queen Elizabeth pledged that her lifelong motto would be "I serve." We pay tribute to her for this noble sentiment, and remember that this character quality is the commandment of all true disciples of Christ, according to Jesus in Matthew 20:25-28. In this episode we will contrast the experience of Jesus' followers with the lessons God has been teaching the human rulers of earth. Picking up where we left off in the preceding episode, we examine Psalm 2, and look at the career of Mikhail Gorbachev to see how he was more malleable than most rulers of men in human history. The Baltic Way, the end of the Cold War, the breakup of the Soviet Union, are presented as evidences that we are nearing the time when a new kind of social structure will be established on planet Earth: a "sabbath" of rest for the entire human race.
When describing the Power of the Cross in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul notices that most people are not impressed. Though Christianity seemed to spread to a place of world domination for many centuries, Paul's words still ring true. In this episode we look at the quiet, hidden way in which the mighty God has allowed "the basest of men" to govern humanity for the entire human experience thus far. We will learn from Jesus' statement to the disciples in Matthew 20 about how humans govern, and the contrast with how those who think and act like Jesus will serve others instead of acting like lords. We will study Daniel's encounter with Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4, and close with observations from Hebrews 11 -- that faith enables us to see God's hand in human history, shaping the lessons people learn and preparing the world to long for its promised thousand-year Sabbath of rest and healing. In Part 2 we will look at recent history to see the momentous impact of a person who has been used by God to bring momentous change to the entire world: Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia.
When we listen to God we often try to turn up the volume. But it seems the ancient prophets didn't hear it clearly until they turned their faces toward the wilderness. In this episode we explore the experiences of Samuel, Moses, Balaam, Jonah, Paul, Barnabas, Zecharias, Mary the mother of Jesus, and others. How do we seek God's word, and what do we do when we receive it? The Bible is full of insights.
Two actors on the biggest stages of the world go off-script and cause a stir. What can we learn without pointing fingers? A charitable discussion of the limits of human power and the arc of history. The meaning of faith in Hebrews 11, the humbling of one of history's most famous kings in Daniel 4, and a prophecy of the celebration of a planet in Isaiah 14. With observations from Russian history and practical thoughts about dealing with our own anger issues. All as part of the series on Strength and Weakness.
The devastation of Ukraine weighs heavy on my heart, and in this episode I turn to the words of David in Psalm 9 and 10 to voice the sadness and yet hope that all people of good will feel at times like this.
Do we reap what we sow? Does deal with us as with sons? Are we like clay in the hands of a potter? All 3 of these metaphors have a Bible basis but don't fully reveal the way God's grace works in our lives. As we work to understand the role of weakness and trials of faith in our lives, we step back to view an overview of what God does in the life of every Christian with this teaching on "God's signature".
In this more in-depth teaching that launches from Psalm 15, Owen looks at the decisions and deeds of characters of the Bible.
Why do good people get run over? This multi-part Bible study starts with the prophecy of Joel 4 and explores the weakness of God's people and part one of understanding the "weakness of God. "
Welcome to the first episode of Good Words. Psalm 15 is our topic -- the Five Rs of Strength. We will reflect on righteousness, resolve or resoluteness, responsibility, resilience and results.