Bible Wisdom Today: Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeply
The Bible was written long ago, in a foreign language, within an alien culture, using unfamiliar literary styles. This verse-by-verse Bible study confronts those challenges to discover God’s wisdom for life today.
Your teacher, Stan Watkins, has always founded his personal faith on the Bible, leading him to complete a Bible degree and enter Christian ministry, ultimately going with his wife and family to Europe for 6 years. There he served in the areas of Bible teaching and music. Since returning to the states, he has supported his local church as he has had opportunity, but now he would like a more regular outlet for teaching God’s word. He has been married to his wife, Mary, since 1990 and has three adult children. In addition to this podcast, he maintains an active piano teaching studio.
Episodes
35 episodes
Introduction to Genesis
Welcome to a new series of studies on the Book of Genesis. In this season, we will study the early chapters of Genesis, which relate stories from primeval history, in preparation for studies in the patriarchal history of Abraham and his descend...
Majestic hymn to the creator | Genesis 1
In this second episode in our study of Genesis, we will continue the story of how God transformed primeval chaos into a functional universe where God may be worshiped. Genesis describes God’s transforming work over a period of seven days, which...
God rested. Was he tired? | Genesis 2
Today, we come to the seventh day of creation where we read that God rested. Why would God rest? Was the all-powerful God exhausted after all his work of creating? In flippantly asking this question, we demonstrate that we are modern people, fa...
Finding Significance in Eden | Genesis 2
Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeplyIn the larger scheme of this world, is my life significant at all? As we transition from Genesis’ opening hymn to the first narrative section, we dis...
Why is life so hard? | Genesis 3
In this episode we attempt to answer the age-old question, “Why is life so hard?” by studying the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The serpent’s dialog with the woman provides a model for our own temptation and God’s ...
Life Lessons from the First Murder | Genesis 4
Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeplyThe first murder isn’t just history—it’s a mirror. This episode traces the shocking shift from Eden’s innocence to Cain’s murder of Abel, revealing patterns that ...
More Than a List--The Hidden Wisdom of Genesis 5
What if the Bible’s most overlooked passages held deep truths that you have missed? In this episode we dig deeper beneath the “boring list” of Genesis 5 to uncover rich theological insight hidden within Adam’s family history. With thoughtful re...
When Heaven and Earth Collide: Rebellion, Judgment…and Grace | Genesis 6
Today we take a thought-provoking journey through one of the Bible’s most debated stories. Genesis 6 begins with the sons of God marrying the daughters of humans, resulting in the Nephilim. It continues with God’s resolve to judge all humanity ...
God remembers Noah…and you | Genesis 7-8
In this episode, at the very heart of one of the most familiar stories in the Bile, we find a single, easily overlooked line: “God remembered Noah.” It is easy to miss, but if you understand how the story is written, you understand that it is t...
After the Flood: New World, Same Heart Problem | Genesis 9
What if the new beginning after the flood wasn’t as new as it seemed? In Genesis 9, Noah and his family step out into a cleansed world—but not with a cleansed heart. In this episode, we explore how God responds to persistent human s...
Revisiting Babel | Genesis 10-11
What if the problem of the Tower of Babel was never really about architecture?In this episode we explore how this story in Genesis 11, along with the preceding ethnography in chapter 10, work together to demonstrate both the unity and re...
Abraham's Baby Faith / Genesis 11-12
Abraham was always a flawless giant of faith, wasn’t he? The biblical reality is far more shocking. Abraham’s story begins, not with heroic faith in one creator God, but with pagan beliefs within a culture of moon worship, a barren ...
Gospel of Mark Introduction
Welcome to this new podcast, Bible Wisdom Today, and to our first book of study, the Gospel of Mark. Believed to be one of the source documents for both Matthew and Luke, the Gospel of Mark is perhaps the most important gospel despite its short...
The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ | Mark 1
In this second episode of Bible Wisdom Today, we explore the prologue of the Gospel of Mark, covering chapter 1, verses 1 through 15. We begin with an overview of the primary truths Mark seeks to present: Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God, bring...
Authority and Amazement | Mark 1
Jesus begins His public ministry with a splash of authority, calling his first disciples, teaching, expelling demons, and healing the sick. The crowd was amazed. He also showed his authority in more private ways by avoiding the tem...
A Rising Crescendo of Conflict | Mark 2
The main drama in the Biblical narrative of this episode is the escalating conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities. In Jesus’ day, the leaders of Judaism were hugely invested in tradition and status quo. They were concerned w...
How to Join Jesus' Inside Circle | Mark 3
In this episode, Jesus interacts with various groups of people—the crowd, the disciples, his family and religious leaders—making a distinction between “insiders” who follow him and “outsiders” who oppose him. Mark highlights the irony when thos...
Jesus teaches in parables | Mark 4
This episode of Bible Wisdom Today extends our understanding of Jesus ministry to those inside and outside his circle of followers, as he finds a way to speak meaningfully to both groups at the same time by using parables. These short stories f...
Who is this Jesus?! | Mark 4
In this episode, we follow Mark, the gospel writer, as he turns from recording Jesus’ teaching to telling stories of his deeds. The two miracle stories discussed today continue Jesus’ slow unveiling of his identity. First, Jesus and the discipl...
The Meaning of Faith | Mark 5
Today we examine the concept of faith, as demonstrated in the miracle stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. By examining the healing of a bleeding woman and the raising of a young girl to life, we discover the practical aspect of faith. Speci...
What does it mean to be Jesus' disciple? | Mark 6
How to be a disciple of Jesus is an important theme throughout the book of Mark, but it comes to the foreground in this section. When we follow along with the Twelve as they go out on mission without Jesus and as they engage in ministry with Je...
The Heart of the Matter | Mark 6
In our Bible passage for today, Mark uses the same key word to connect two stories that seem to be about different subjects. That word is “heart.” In the story of Jesus walking on water, we read that the disciples were amazed because their hear...
Good News Without Borders | Mark 7
In our study of Mark, today, Jesus makes a trip of at least 120 miles into foreign territories surrounding Galilee. There he finds a woman with a persistent faith, heals a deaf and mute man, and feeds a crowd of 4000 people. Through these stori...
Seeing at last | Mark 8
This episode brings us to the pivotal point in Mark where the disciples finally begin to understand who Jesus is. Mark ties this section together with many references to sight or the lack of it. First the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from hea...
Jesus Unveiled | Mark 8
In today’s episode, Jesus begins the difficult work of revealing himself clearly to his followers. They now understand that he is the Messiah, but their definition of the Messiah is seriously insufficient. Jesus reveals his that his true missio...