This week, let me direct our attention to a few good podcasts (including our church’s). A podcast is a spoken word time of teaching, discussion, or opinion (sometimes all three!) that you listen to via the internet rather than over your AM/FM radio. But with so many podcasts out there – and with such limited time – which ones are worth your time? Which ones are high quality and trustworthy? While we could make a long list, here are three that I’ve found helpful and Biblical over the past year:
“The Crossway Podcast” Crossway is a publisher of Christian books and Bibles (they publish the English Standard Version that you’ll find in our pews) and they have put together a very helpful podcast that features devotionals and author interviews. If you are the sort who can’t read as much as you’d like, but would be interested in an interview with the author where his or her ideas are explained and interacted with, you’ll find this podcast helpful and encouraging.
“Ask Pastor John” John Piper is the retired pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church and has been answering reader questions about every conceivable aspect of the Christian life for years on this podcast. What you’ll generally find are short episodes (~15 minutes or so) where he answers questions about living for Jesus: from tricky moral situations, to what daily prayer should look like, and everything in between. Especially helpful is Piper’s focus on the Scriptures: even if you don’t necessarily agree with his answer on any given question, he models what it looks like to faithfully and humbly wrestle with God’s Word, which is a skill we all need to grow in.
“Help Me Teach The Bible” Nancy Guthrie has been interviewing faithful folks throughout the Christian world for a number of years, normally centering her interviews around what a particular book or part of the Bible says, what it means, and how Christians should live in response. If you’ve been wondering what to do with Ezekiel during our current Bible reading program – or Jonah or Colossians or many other books and topics – you’ll find helpful interviews here. Here’s a list of episodes in Biblical order.
Looking for more? Looking for something different? You might check out some of the other podcasts offered by The Gospel Coalition. Or, if you’d like to see how John Piper works through a passage of Scripture, his video “Look at the Book” series is especially helpful, too.
One last note: podcasts – as with anything online – are wonderful tools, but poor masters. If you find yourself stressed out and overloaded because you feel like you are “getting behind” in listening, then take a step back – unsubscribe or unfollow some of most of them. Remember: less is more. Ironically, John Piper himself has spoken on this topic several times and his words strike a wise balance that is worth considering.
