Behind The Pulpit
Our weekly pastors podcast where we discuss fun new stories, church events, previous sermons. As well as answering interesting questions from you!
Behind The Pulpit
Lightning Round
This week on Behind the Pulpit, Pastor Bob hosts a special “lightning round” edition with guest co-host Noah Graves, who steps in for Pastor Dave as he takes a week off. The trio keeps things fast-paced and lively, covering everything from government shutdown updates and Supreme Court rulings to Mars missions and a few hilarious travel memories. The episode also features rapid-fire book recommendations, audience questions, and a surprise set of Theology Sprint challenges that test Pastor Bob’s biblical reflexes.
In their audience Q&A segment, Bob, Tim, and Noah tackle two deep theological questions submitted by listeners — one exploring whether the angel of the Lord in Judges 13 could be a preincarnate appearance of Christ, and another examining the line on baptism from the Nicene Creed. The discussion dives into the difference between water and Spirit baptism and what it truly means to confess “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”
Finally, in the sermon recap, Pastor Bob reflects on Pastor Dave’s message from Isaiah 41–46, unpacking themes of idolatry, divine sovereignty, and what it means for God to be our “everything.” He reminds listeners that while idols promise security, only the living God knows us by name and walks with us through the fire and the flood. It’s a fast, fun, and thought-provoking episode that blends humor with deep truth — the perfect balance of lightning and light.
**SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE SHOW HERE**
https://millingtonbaptist.org/sermons/behind-the-pulpit-ask-your-questions/
For all upcoming events and general information, check out our website!
https://millingtonbaptist.org/
Music
"Ventura"
Morgan Taylor
U76EPPNJDYZYU0Y7
Hey everybody, welcome to Behind the Pulpit for November the 10th, 2025. We're so glad that you're joining us here today. Um it is a it is a rainy day in November. Uh yesterday started out wonderful, and then all of a sudden it uh it got a little rainy in the afternoon. So um the leaves are starting to fall. Winter is upon us. Uh Dave, what do you think about that? Well, Dave Dave is speechless today. It looks like his his Rhesus illustration has really uh uh you know taken taken over him. So uh since he's a little uh a little speechless today, we have an extra guest with us on the show. I'm here joined by Noah Graves. Noah, welcome. How are you doing? Doing very good.
Noah:Excited to be on the show.
Bob:Oh, you are? Okay. How was your you were gone last week. What were you doing? I was gone last week. I was on vacation. Okay. Take a nice little break. Did you have any uh have any Reese's while you were on vacation?
Noah:I did not have any Reese's. Uh I feel rather close to this uh large Reese's over here with the headset.
Bob:I know, I know. Maybe we should say that Dave and you traded places this week, so Dave's on vacation, but in in this in the place of Dave not being here, uh we we we got the Reese's that was in his box. So we'll we'll ask his opinion periodically and see and see what happens uh throughout the episode. We'll see what he says. All right. Well this episode's gonna be a lightning lightning round. Maybe Tim can come with a graphic, a light lightning round graphic right here to put through. It's gonna be uh the quickest um quickest behind the pulpit you've ever seen in your life. So let's let's jump right into it. Let's get going with in the news. Alright, here we go. So in the news, I'm gonna do a rapid fire in the news edition. By the way, was I supposed to mention something about what's going on in body life here? I noticed here. That my call. That's my call. All right, we'll come back to body life later on. Sorry. It's rapid fire, it's a rapid fire episode today. All right, so let's see what's going on in the news right here. I'm just gonna pull up some headlines and see what's uh I'm gonna see what's going on here. All right, so first thing, big thing going on, government shutdown. It looks like after 40 days, the longest government shutdown in uh in American history, it it looks like it's about to come to an end. Finally, we got a few, there's a few Democrats that came on board with the Republican uh proposal, and uh it looks like even today that might be the case. Now, I think the real reason that's going on is because the TSA was starting to talk about no flights for Thanksgiving. Imagine you're you're getting lined up to go off to uh Thanksgiving and you can't catch a flight. So I imagine there's a lot a lot of pressure coming on. And uh still, despite our divided government, it looks like uh some people can uh come together and come to a decision to keep the funding uh going on. So look for that today. Government shutdown potentially is done. What else is going on? Oh, another big one at the Supreme Court switching over to the other part of Washington. Uh by the way, by the way, Tim, did you ever go on the did you go on that DC trip with us a few years ago? Wait, actually, a few years ago like ten years ago now. I did. You did. Do you remember going by the Supreme Court and the Capitol building and everything? I do. Do you remember when I I accidentally left my my uh my book bag in front of the Capitol building and I almost got arrested and branded as a terrorist? Yes. Yes, that was amazing.
Tim:I also remember uh someone coming up and uh telling us that the world was gonna end in a few days when we were having a uh debrief on the Capitol Mall.
Bob:The Capitol Mall is not a place for uh for people that are faint of heart. Well, anyway, this is the uh this is the thing that's going on. That's the um headline is Supreme Court rejects Kim Davis' bid to overturn same-sex marriage. So there's been some discussion about revisiting Obergefeld, the uh Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. And uh Kim Davis is the county clerk from Kentucky who made uh news a number of years ago because she refused to uh sign the uh the legal documents that would have solemnized a uh a same-sex wedding in her state because of her religious convictions. Um so apparently the Supreme Court will not hear that case. Um it's interesting, though, there's been some statistics recently that have said the the uh the favorability of same-sex marriages uh is is shifting um in that less people are in favor of it than used to be. And of course, from a biblical perspective, uh uh we believe that the the Bible holds to a traditional marriage. That's a a uh a solemn institution that God put in place from the beginning. Um so we'll see where that goes. But that was another headline that caught my attention over here. All right, last one. Last one, let's see, it's one that go one that uh pulls up my uh my eye here. Uh UK Berkeley, Mars mission scrubbed due to Florida weather. So it looks like um Blue Origins. Here's the here's the the here's the the readout. Blue Origins scrubbed the launch of its new Glen rocket on Sunday afternoon due to poor weather conditions to Florida, postponing NASA's postponing NASA's escapade mission that would send twin satellites to study Mars magnetic field and atmosphere. So I guess this is a big deal because people are really interested in going to Mars. Uh have you have you guys heard that today? Mars is like uh like the place for next place we're gonna go.
Tim:The moon is so 1900s, I suppose.
Bob:Well, I guess they want to go back to the moon too, but the real goal is Mars. We want to get we want to get over there. Elon Musk has like made that his uh his his goal. Um is the Martian from Looney Teams gonna be up there? I guess we'll find out. What's your prediction on how quickly we'll get to Mars? Any any takers? What's the prediction? Me personally? Or uh Well, I'm asking both of you. Whoever wants to jump in here. Dave? Dave, what do you think? Mars? How soon? He's speechless, folks.
Tim:What do you guys think? Uh me personally, I don't think I'll get there.
Bob:But as well, I didn't say you personally, but when will will uh somebody from Earth actually get to Mars and survive?
Tim:Uh I I don't see it happening for for I mean maybe in our lifetime.
Bob:Well, we'll see. Have you ever seen that movie The Martian with Matt Damon?
Tim:No. Oh my goodness. Great movie. You guys are good things. You guys got a good watch. No, you haven't seen it either? No. That makes me feel better because Noah is a big guy of films.
Noah:I saw First Man with uh Ryan Gosling. Okay. Oh, it was really good. Okay. Going to the moon, but I haven't never seen Martian.
Bob:Well, go check out the Martian. That's my uh movie recommendation for today. All right, that'll end the in the news segment. Lightning round. Boom. We're done with that. Here we go. Uh what's up next? We're gonna do uh audience question, right? Oh no, uh uh rapid fire book recommendations. So um here's here's my proposal here. Since Dave has decided to be out the last two weeks, um, I think I'm gonna take those as forfeits and I should just win, and you should update the score accordingly, Tim. Uh I'm gonna make that executive decision today. Okay. And uh I'm gonna do a little rapid fire book recommendation. What do you think? Let's do it. All right, let's do it. What do you think about that? Dave, what do you think about that? He's speechless, folks. All right, here we go. All right, so my rapid fire book recommendation. By the way, what did I recommend last week? I forgot. Me too. I was so super memorable. Or maybe I didn't. Did I recommend one? You recommended one? You didn't. I did. I'll have to go back and look at my notes. All right, so rapid fire, three books I brought with me today. I just picked this one up. This is by a guy named Michael Emlett, and it's called Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners. And the subtitle is Loving God's Loving Others as God Loves Us. Now, Michael Emlett is a faculty member at the CCEF, the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, which is a biblical counseling organization down outside of Philadelphia. And uh this this book walks you through how to engage with people at different stages of life. So maybe a friend feels rejected, a counselee is angry, a church member's child is ill, you want to help, but where do you begin? And so Michael Emlett's going to outline a model for one another uh ministry based on how God sees and loves his saints and brings them through suffering. So that's that book I'm recommending today. Saints, sufferers, and sinners. Second book I'm recommending today. It's a book called The Good Investor by Robin John. Uh Robin John runs an investment firm up in Boston called Eventide. It is a uh what's come to be known as a biblically responsible investing firm, and they invest in uh things that will um bring about the common good in our world and not not just uh uh uh excluding things that are harmful, but really seeking to invest in companies that are doing good in the world. So this is what the good investor is about. If that's something you're not familiar with, I would challenge you to pick up the book and read this uh and think about how it might impact what you do in your portfolios. I I personally have uh some uh money with Even Tide and their healthcare fund because of our heart for uh helping people that uh are encountering rare diseases like our son does. And uh, and by the way, that fund actually since July is up about 40%. So if you're interested in learning more about Even Tide and their philosophy, um The Good Investor, that's the book for you. And then finally, book by Jordan Raynor. It's called The Sacredness of Secular Work: Four Ways Your Job Matters for Eternity, even when you're not sharing the gospel. So this is a book all about uh productivity. How do you use your work, your your calling, your vocation to give glory to God? So if you're not in full-time vocational ministry, this is gonna be a great book for you to read to see how uh God can really uh really work through you. Here's a couple of the taglines. Um you're gonna discover how a lower guard for our work limits our understanding of God and his kingdom. You're gonna find inspiring ways your work can reveal God's kingdom on earth here and now. You're gonna find surprising strategies for ensuring vacation and uh I'm sorry, not vacation. Ensuring vocation has an eternal legacy and vital insights on what God's view of work tells us about heaven. Are we gonna work in heaven? Are we just gonna be sitting around uh lounging on the golden the golden streets? So this is gonna be a great book for you to read. There you go. Those are my three. Boom. Rapid fire. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. It can be done, folks. It can be. All right. Dave, what do you think? Be speechless. All right. Noah, Noah, what do you think? You got I saw you brought a book over here. You want to you want to challenge the the trifecta over here?
Noah:Well, I decided to have some fun with it. And since Pastor Dave is out on vacation this week, I stopped by his personal library and I decided to see if I could find a book I've read there. Uh so I did find this one, which I read for school. Uh, it's called Being Leaders. As you can see there by Aubrey Malfers. Uh, this is a great book for Christian leadership. Um, it talks about what it means to be a Christian leader, how to be a Christian leader. Um, and I learned a lot from this. And if you're interested in being a Christian leader, you know, it could be a formal role like in ministry, or it could even be just you know a volunteer role. Uh, it's a very profitable book and definitely recommend it. There you go.
Bob:Now, do you think the quite real question is do you think Dave would recommend that book?
Noah:I think Dave would recommend this book.
Bob:All right, let's ask him. Dave, would you recommend this book? Maybe. I think I think I think I saw the reason shaking its head, so I think he's he's in favor of that. All right. We recommend you decide. Um, so you have a lot of options this week. All right. Next segment we're looking into is the audience question, right?
Tim:Oh, yes.
Bob:So somebody from the audience asked a question. Let's see what we got here today.
Tim:So, yeah, it is turning into a quite uh question-heavy episode, as we will see now and later. We actually had a very recent submission um since the last time I checked. Uh, so we are gonna have two audience questions. Um, and the first one comes from our favorite audience question asker, Mr. John Rickershauser. And John asks What's up, John? Since in Isaiah 9 6, the Messiah is called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, in Judges 13 18, the angel of the Lord tells Samson's parents that his name is wonderful. Could the angel of the Lord actually be a preincarnate appearance of Jesus?
Bob:That's a interesting question. I have not considered that recently. Do you have any thoughts on that, Noah?
Noah:No, I don't have uh any immediate thoughts on that. That is a good question.
Bob:Let me uh let me check here and see if Isaiah 9 6 and um and Judges was it Judges 13 8?
Tim:Judges 13.8.
Bob:If they have any uh correlation, see what happens here. Boom. Okay, so John, you always ask these tough questions that we just have to think off the top of our heads, right? Um real stumper right here. You know, Dave, Dave might have an answer to this. Dave, what do you think? You got an answer? He's pondering, he's pondering over there, folks. He's pondering over there. So um just doing a quick look up here, it looks like the two verses are from different times, but they have they have some thematic parallels. So you got a promised child, a divine announcement, purpose and destiny. So it's possible, John, that John thir uh Judges 13.8 could be a foreshadowing, an example of how God is promise, preparing to deliver others through miraculous signs. Maybe it culminates in the delivery, so it could be a foreshadowing, uh, a type of something that that's to come. But um, I'm not sure if there's any exact connection and parallel over between the two. But I will do some more research and I will I will email you based on on what I find. So that's the best I got for you today, Tim, with that question. What's the next one?
Tim:All right, so this one actually was a topic of discussion um at our band of brothers meeting last week. This came up.
Bob:Oh my goodness. All right.
Tim:And I think this is almost worthy of a theology sprint. So we're gonna call it theology sprint part A. Uh the Nicene The first one wasn't a theology sprint?
Bob:Well, like a biblical study sprint.
Tim:Yes, there's a biblical more of a biblical study. This is this is something I think you'll enjoy this question. The Nicene Creed was read this morning, uh, now yesterday morning, which states we acknowledge one baptism for the given for the forgiveness of sins. In uh in is this line sorry, is this in line with NBC's beliefs? Does baptism forgive sins?
Bob:Well, I think uh as we we talk about when people get baptized, we believe baptism is an uh uh an outward profession of an inward faith. Meaning it shows that the Spirit is doing something inside of you that you want to make a public profession, that you've given your life to Christ and have been forgiven of your sins. Um but in in MBC's belief, and typical in Baptist belief, we don't believe that baptism itself is salvific. And that's different than um uh a Roman Catholic belief about baptism. Not only do they uh baptize infants, but they do believe that the act of baptism itself has the ability to or is necessary to uh remit or or move or forgive you as part of your forgiveness of sins. Uh we believe when you confess with Jesus Jesus with your mouth, you give your your life to him, um and when you receive him as savior and you're transformed and regenerated, that that is the forgiveness that is is given to you. And then baptism is an act of obedience done by people who have given their life to Christ. So the act of baptism isn't salvific, in and of itself, does not rem remove sins, but it is a um a a symbol of the fact that you are saying, I I indeed have been forgiven.
Tim:But so in the context of the Nicene Creed is is the baptism that the creed refers to as that the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not the uh like the No, I mean uh any Christian would would acknowledge that uh if you're a believer you should be baptized in terms of water baptism.
Bob:Uh but there is different uh beliefs about obviously mode and what the baptism entails. Uh a creed like the Nicene Creed is a very ecumenical creed. So that's a creed that would be affirmed by a Baptist, by a Presbyterian, by a Episcopal. Um so it's not it's not uh it's not a baptistic creed, it's an ecumenical Christian creed. Did that answer your question?
Tim:Maybe. No, it looks like he's got a follow-up question.
Noah:I don't have a follow-up question, but I think what Tim's question is, is he's kind of s uh asking if there's a distinction between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism uh uh water baptism, you know, the baptism of the Holy Spirit being when you're saved, and then the bapt water baptism being the uh you know, the physical act of getting dunked.
Tim:I'm just wondering, and I think this is what this person is referring to as well. Like what is like the baptism in the Nicene Creed, which is saying that baptism that we acknowledge one baptism for the givenness of sins. Is that referring to immersion or infant baptism, or is that referring to the spirit baptism of the spirit?
Bob:Yeah, so um no, I I I th i i i in terms of that question, that's why I mentioned water baptism. I do believe that in the Nicene Creed it's referring to water baptism. Okay. Because there there's different beliefs about spirit baptism uh and and what that brings about. If you're in more of a charismatic circle, spirit baptism is necessary for salvation and brings about the miraculous gifts of the spirit speaking in tongues and things of that nature. But certainly in in the context, it's referring to somebody who's um who's baptized by water, symbolizing their forgiveness of sins, and it's not something that needs to be repeated. So that's the idea of the one baptism. Because sometimes people will say, I got baptized, and then maybe I walked away from the Lord, maybe I should be baptized. And and we don't believe somebody should be rebaptized, assuming that their baptism was done um for the right reasons and for uh at the right time. Uh in that the sense that you were indeed a Christian and um and you're doing it as a profession of your faith. So I that's that's what the Nicene Creed's getting at.
Noah:One of the other things I'm noticing is that for this line of the Nicene Creed, it's the only one that uses the word confess. Uh so it's actually it seems to be connecting the word confession with baptism, so it's confessing the baptism. Um so that kind of makes that's kind of stirring within me that it's not saying that I believe baptism is the mode for being forgiven, but it's it's saying I'm confessing that baptism represents the uh salvation that I've received, which is my forgiveness of sins. That's a thought.
Bob:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So again, it's it's something that um would uh it's a creed that we read in a pr in a Catholic church as well as a Protestant church, and so it covers uh it covers an awful lot of uh traditions, um, who obviously have different views of baptism, but uh in none of those cases would they they advocate for a re-baptism as far as I'm aware. Cool.
Tim:Hope that answers that question whoever asked it. Ask another one next week.
Bob:Dave, what do you think? He's thinking, folks. All right. Uh is there another question or are we ready to move on to the next one?
Tim:We are done with questions for now.
Bob:For now, okay. Sounds good, sounds good. Um all right, so let's see. We are moving on to thoughts on the sermon. Is that where we at? Yes. Okay, so um did anybody see the sermon other than me?
Tim:No.
Bob:No. Okay, so it sounds like I'm giving thoughts on the sermon.
Tim:Correct.
Bob:All right, well, I thought Dave did a wonderful job. This is my, let's say this is my 90-second review. Dave, Dave, how do you feeling? You get sweating over there? Man, it's a little wet on the uh on the forehead of the uh Reese's over there. Well, I did enjoy the Reese's illustration. Um, I will tell you though, I did give Dave a recommendation, and if he was here, I would tell him this too. So the Reese's showed up in the middle. My recommendation was to introduce at the beginning, build the shrine in the middle, and then knock it down as he was tearing down the high places of his Reese's altar. And Dave left the altar. He left the high places in place, and so he still has some work to do this week. Perhaps this is what he's going to be praying and meditating on over the course of the week in his Reese's idolatry. So we'll we'll see how that how that goes. But the rest of the sermon, I thought he did a wonderful job just giving us the context for what was going on thematically in Isaiah 41 to 46, talking about the trial of the false gods. And um I really did like that uh that uh kind of mnemonic device he used where he had everybody ask, what kind of God is that, uh, where Isaiah is just kind of mocking and and trash talking um these idols that are false gods. Um by the way, um uh quick insert on a House of David update. Um I think uh I can't remember if I mentioned this the other week, but uh we just finished episode seven, and in episode six, I believe it was, um Uriah the Hittite shows up as David and his band are going to attack the Philistines, and they get talking about his uh his belief in God, and for a while he was living in Egypt, and David asks him in the show, why did you leave Egypt and come to Israel? And uh and Uriah talks about how in Egypt they had all these, you know, made-up gods with with like we're reading about in Isaiah forty-one to forty-six, made of stone, made of wood, made of uh dressed in gold and everything like this. Those are the god type of gods that are down in Egypt as well as the surrounding nations. And and Uriah says to David in the show, I came to Israel because your God is real. Because your God is real. And and that's I think the point, at least partially, of Isaiah forty-one to forty-six is to say, God, Yahweh, Adonai, the one who reveals himself in Scripture, the God of Israel, is the one true God who actually can do something in the world. Not these not these little totems that are in the surrounding nations. So he did he did a wonderful job there. He also asked a great applicational question of what is your everything? What is your everything? He even threw in a Michael Booblay song, if you missed that. I was waiting for him to sing sing uh sing Michael Booblay and and see what he had to say there. Um and at the end, he he made some applications for wives and husbands and and students. Is there something in your life? Now, of course, we would all if you were pressed and you're a Christian, what's your everything? Everybody says, Oh, I know the answer is Jesus. But if you if you functionally look at your heart and ask yourself, what what what what is actually my everything? What is the central piece of my life? What am I thinking about all the time? That's the thing that is actually your everything, that should you lose it, you'd be on the ground weeping in despair. And uh that that that's what Dave eloquently pulled out over the course of the sermon in Isaiah 41 to 46. So does that stir any questions among you? That's that's my summary of what he talked about. Uh I thought he did a wonderful job uh pulling out the right themes. Dave? Man, everybody's silent today. They don't know what to say. Well, here's what I'm gonna say. Here's the uh let me pull this up. Uh my favorite verse in in the whole section of what he talked about, and I'm just gonna read this so for context. Uh Isaiah 43, uh verses one through three, I believe. So let me just uh let me just pull that one up. Isaiah 43, 1 to 3 has some beautiful language in there that we should really we can really hold on to this week. Isaiah 43, 1 to 3 talks about Israel's only Savior, the only God, who's more powerful than all these crazy wooden idols out there. And he says, But now, thus says the Lord, he created you, O Jacob, he formed you, O Israel. Notice the naming. The God knows us by name, he knows his people by name. And then he says, Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you what? By name. You are mine, you're mine. And I would give even so far as to say, if you're a Christian, he knows you by name. He you are you are his. Verse 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Through the through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. And I imagine some of you out there today, that's where you are. You feel like you're drowning, you feel like you're you're burning, um everything is crashing in around you, and the Lord says, I see you, I will be with you, I'm walking through you. And then verse three, he says, For I am the Lord Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Sheba, in exchange for you, because you are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you. I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west, I will gather you. Promise of the return from the exile. Again, remember, people that are reading this, this section of Isaiah, most likely, years later, are reading this when they're in exile in Babylon, and these are the precious promises that God has given to his people.
Noah:So, dare I ask, any other thoughts? Yeah, I think that's a it is a very power powerful passage, and I think something I'm thinking of right now as I'm hearing us talk about this more uh you know, application-wise, is uh I'm actually reminded of the very first episode of The Chosen. Uh you kind of follow Mary Magdalene a little bit, and there's this scripture verse that her and her father would read when she was very, very young, and it was actually this passage, uh, specifically the part that says, Fear not, for I redeemed you, I've called you by name, you are mine. And I'm kind of tying that into what you were talking about before, where Pastor Dave uh was talking about, you know, what's what's your everything, what's the thing you're thinking about all the time. And Mary Magdalene in the show, um, when she was in really hard times with some of the different stuff that she was going through, she was actually praying that verse to herself, the fear not, for I've redeemed you, I've called you by name, you are mine. And I think that's a way that we can kind of practically speaking, you know, kind of shatter these idols in our lives, where rather than daydreaming about those other things, you know, this is a verse that we can just cling close to is that part where it says, I have called you by name, you are mine. I think that's something that we can really um live out, is like, you know, Jesus is mine and he says that I'm his, and you know, holding fast to that. I know.
Bob:So you're saying that Reese's isn't more powerful than Jesus, right? Dave? You listen over there? I see those headphones on. Well, that's a that's a uh that's a good word for you. Um thanks, Noah. Yeah, appreciate appreciate you putting that in there. All right, what do you think, Tim? Anything else about the sermon?
Tim:Um no, nothing about the sermon.
Bob:All right, this upcoming week we're gonna be jumping up to Isaiah 49, and we're gonna start getting into now what's called the servant songs, which are predictors of the Messiah, of Jesus coming down the road. But in the servant songs, there's some debate about whether every single piece of it's referring to Jesus, or is it referring to Israel or the people of God, who are the servants that bring about the kingdom into this world and expand it out to the nations, to the Gentiles, which is going to show up later in the 60s of Isaiah. So we're gonna start delving into those topics this coming week. Isaiah 49, 1 through 13. So go read that and uh bring your questions. We'll hope to answer them. All right, and that's the sermon for this week. I think we've come now to the theology sprint. We're moving along here, Tim. We're uh We're almost done. We're in the lightning round of behind the pulpit.
Tim:And this might be the most difficult part of the show ever for you, Pastor Bob. Noah, why don't you explain what we have in store?
Bob:All right, well, we have a lightning round. We've got another video from Pastor Dave. Dave, you can make the Reese's talk over there.
Noah:Well, for our show today, we have a lightning round of theology sprint questions. So the way that we're gonna do it this time uh is we're gonna do a three-tier difficulty of theology sprint questions. So we're gonna start off with an easy question, then we're gonna jump up to a hard question. I'm sorry, we're gonna go easy, then medium, and then hard. So we're gonna kick it off with an easy theology sprint question, which is do all religions lead to the same God? No. Next question.
Bob:He's doing great, folks. Lightning round theology question. Well, I mean, in the sense too, also I will say that this is this is a major talking point, right? Nowadays in the world. People will say, Oh, well, uh, you can believe in you can be Islam, uh Muslim, you can be a um you know uh uh a Hindu, uh a secular person who believes in like the spirit force, and it's just all God's just all the same thing. And we absolutely believe no, that the exclusively it is the God of the Bible who is the one true God, and uh the only way to get to him, to the Father, is through Jesus Christ.
Noah:So, no. Alright. Well, that was the chip shot. The next one is a little bit harder. This is our medium level difficulty. And the question is does the old testament condemn polygamy?
Bob:Does the old testament condemn polygamy? Well, the way I usually answer this question is that uh there's certain parts of the scripture that are descriptive and certain parts that are prescriptive, and a lot of parts of the Old Testament are descriptive, and uh you will see God's people knowing what they should do and yet not doing it. And so um, you know, uh David, even King David, hadn't had multiple wives, and there was a lot of things that God said he was not pleased with what uh David uh did. Solomon, Solomon asked for wisdom, and yet he wound up having, you know, like a thousand women at his side, and God was not pleased with uh with his work. That was not something that he desired. They were gonna they were supposed to be standing out amongst all the nations. Um so the fact that there is Sinful people who don't follow God in the Old Testament doesn't mean that that's prescriptive for our day and age. If you were to look at the totality of marriage within the Bible, from Genesis 1 all the way through Revelation, there's marriage is a main theme. And from the very beginning, you had Adam and Eve as the first husband and wife, who which is then reaffirmed explicitly in the New Testament and Jesus himself in places like Matthew 19. So there you go.
Noah:That's number two. Alright. So now we got our final question. This is not an easy one. This is the hard difficulty. So here we go. Was humanity and the earth perfect and sinless before the fall of man? If so, is it possible for there to be another fall of man in the new heavens and the new earth?
Bob:Interesting question. Interesting question. So um I do think that God well there was no sin before um before uh for the fall in Genesis 3. Of course, that changed everything. Um so was it perfect? I think God didn't want sin to come in, and yet it did. Um and then of course the rest of the Bible deals with God remaking the world, with God doing something about it, with bringing about self salvation and uh remaking the Marred image. And the new heavens and the new earth, I do think God will have final victory over sin, and there's not going to be sin again. Um, does the Bible specifically say that? Not necessarily, but I think the picture we get is that history is moving in a certain direction and God is purifying the world and ultimately will bring about perfection in the eternal state. How about that?
Noah:That's everything. Those are our uh theology sprint rapid fire questions.
Bob:Alright. So why don't you give a rapid fire closing here, Noah? Is there anything we need to mention, Tim, before we go?
Tim:If you're curious about anything that's happening at Millington Baptist Church, see the website.
Bob:All right, and there you go. We'll see you next week. Hopefully, Pastor Dave will be back. Maybe I won't be here next week. I don't know. Things are getting a little crazy here in November. People like to use November as a month to do things that are unorthodox.
Noah:Maybe BB8 will be here in your place.
Bob:It is true. There might there might be BB8, and you can actually make him talk on the episode. So we'll see what happens. Tune in next week from behind the pulpit. Maybe another lightning round, maybe not. We'll see. God bless.