The Blessed Hope Podcast -- with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

Sep 16 2024 87
The Blessed Hope Podcast -- with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger artwork

Interested in taking a deep dive into the biblical text? Join host Dr. Kim Riddlebarger for each episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast as we explore the Letters of the Apostle Paul. In each episode, we work our way through Paul’s letters, focusing upon Paul’s life and times, the gospel he preaches, the law/gospel distinction, the doctrine of justification sola fide, Paul’s two-age eschatology, and a whole lot more. So get out your Bible and join us! Oh, and expect a few bad jokes and surprise episodes along the way.

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"You Can't Unscramble Eggs" Season Three/Episode Fourteen (1 Corinthians 7:17-40)

Sep 16 2024 60 mins  
Episode Synopsis:In 1 Corinthians 7:17-40, Paul teaches what I call the “you can’t unscramble eggs” doctrine. What should a new Christian do when they come to faith in Jesus Christ? Do they quit their current “secular” job to devote themselves full-time to Jesus Christ and to the work of ministry? Should they rush into marriage to avoid the lusts of the flesh? Or converse

“Mixed Marriages, `Holy’ Spouses and Children” Season Three/Episode Thirteen (1 Corinthians 7:12-16)

Sep 02 2024 51 mins  
Episode Synopsis:Paul’s Gentile mission was a huge success. A number of new churches were established throughout the eastern Mediterranean world–including fast growing churches in important cities such as Corinth, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. But with the spread of the gospel into a previously unevangelized world dominated by Greco-Roman culture and religion, came a whole set of

"Sex and Marriage" Season Three/Episode Twelve (1 Corinthians 7:1-11)

Aug 19 2024 49 mins  
Episode Synopsis:Sex and marriage were pressing issues in Corinth. Gentiles who came to faith in Jesus Christ during Paul’s Gentile mission were learning the biblical sexual ethic for the first time. Grounded in the creation order, the Ten Commandments, and the teaching of Jesus, it did not take long for the Corinthians to understand that sex was not merely a pleasurable bodily f

"Flee From Sexual Immorality" Season Three/Episode Eleven (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

May 22 2024 48 mins  
Episode Synopsis:It has been said that prostitution is the world’s old profession. In reality, tending a garden and naming animals is. But if you lived in first century Corinth you lived in a city well-known for its prostitutes and rampant sexual immorality. This creates a difficult situation for Christians who live there and who have been taught by Paul that sexual relations are

"Washed, Sanctified, Justified" Season Three/Episode Ten (1 Corinthians 6:1-11)

May 14 2024 54 mins  
Episode Synopsis:Corinth was a booming city with lots of new money and great stress upon the power and prestige that goes with it. One way to enhance your public image was to take advantage of those who had something you wanted or needed, or to shame a rival or get a leg up on someone you didn’t like, was to sue them in civil court. Corinth was a very litigious place with one cit

"A Man Has His Father's Wife" Season Three/Episode Nine (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

Apr 25 2024 48 mins  
Episode Synopsis:When passing through Ephesus, where Paul was living at the time, members of Chloe’s family informed Paul of a situation in the Corinthian church of such a serious nature that Paul is taken aback. A man in the Corinthian church (presumably known to the church but unnamed by Paul) is cohabiting with his father’s wife. Such conduct was scandalous to the point that

"Shall I Come With a Rod?" Season Three/Episode Eight (1 Corinthians 4:1-21)

Apr 12 2024 50 mins  
Episode Synopsis:Paul expressed a fair bit of righteous anger in his letter to the Galatians–calling those taken in by false teachers foolish people who have been all-too easily bewitched by false teachers. In 1 Corinthians 4, the apostle again expresses his frustration, speaking sarcastically of those who think of themselves as rich (when they are poor), and as kings who act as

"You Are God's Temple" Season Three/Episode Seven (1 Corinthians 3:1-23)

Mar 29 2024 63 mins  
Episode Synopsis:So what will it be? Milk or meat? Are the Corinthians spiritual toddlers? Or are they mature Christians? Since they are being drawn to the factions forming within the church (“I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos”) it is clear that no matter how mature they think they are, in reality they are immature. Their lack of progress in Christian maturity provokes a re

"Preaching as a Demonstration of the Spirit's Power" Season Three/Episode Six (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)

Mar 15 2024 64 mins  
Episode Synopsis:Paul did not come to Corinth as a typical sage, sophist, or philosopher. He was an unimpressive rabbi and made no attempt to embrace Greco-Roman rhetorical techniques to keep an audience entertained and wanting more. Paul’s mission to the Gentiles was not about him, it was about the message he preached, Christ and him crucified. When Paul arrived in Corinth he wa

"Christ and Him Crucified" Season Three/Episode Five (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

Mar 02 2024 62 mins  
Episode Synopsis:The cross of Jesus Christ is utter foolishness to those who are perishing in their sins. Yet, Paul tells the Corinthians that through message of the cross God reveals his wisdom and power. In the closing section of the first chapter of his first Corinthian letter, Paul explains how and why the preaching of Christ crucified confounds all those who seek mere human wi