Features
The Do-Nothing Bit is a Lie
The man who ran off to bury his talent in the ground could have looked to the other servants for more information, could have questioned himself, could have wondered if maybe the other servants who went out and did what the master required knew more than he did. But why would he? Adam didn’t. It’s not the usual way.
#27: Who Are These People? The Limits of Compassion
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss election reactions, compassion (both real and fake), and having conversations with people who disagree with you.
Video Panel: How Can Christians Vote for Trump?
How can sensible, fair-minded Christians vote for a man like Trump?
I’m joined by fellow Stand Firm bloggers Greg and Matt to tease out what made the difference for them. A helpful video to share with your friend who wants to understand more.
Elections, Fraud, Oversight and the Need for Questions
Our electoral processes thrive on being transparent. That transparency comes from well-planned and executed systems that have the proper controls that are themselves open to full scrutiny. Where any of those parts don’t work we have a serious breakdown in confidence.
Till the Break of Day
Apparently, Mr. Biden made a speech yesterday and in it quoted On Eagle’s Wings. I thought about going and trying to find it, but I have a policy of never listening to any speech any politician makes, and I don’t intend to begin now, even to hear something so...
#26: The Cat in the (Pointy) Hat: The Good and Bad of Bishops
Matt, Jady, and Nick talk about bishops and bishop-led churches. They discuss advantages and disadvantages of having bishops, whether or not they’re biblical, and consider the recent resignation of a bishop in the ACNA.
That’s Enough, Tish.
Did someone make Orange Man Bad the Summary of the Law while I was not paying attention during Holy Communion?
A Great Throng
He isn’t going to let us have this salvation in such a way that we can destroy it.
#25: A Coin the Coffer: Purgatory Then and Now
Matt, Jady, and Nick talk about the Vatican’s recent statement about indulgences and purgatory, why the idea is such bad news, and how the attempt to buy one’s way into grace is widespread, both inside and outside the church.
#24: Mo Money No Problems: Give Unto the Lord
Jady and Nick discuss the intersection of the church and your money. Why does the church talk about money so much? Is there any Good News to be found in stewardship?
Totalitarian Moments VIII: Packing the Supreme Court … of Venezuela
In 2004, Hugo Chavez was not pleased with the Supreme Court of Venezuela…
Heart-rendering
But everything is God’s, of course, even the things that belong to Ceasar. Everything is already his—the work, the years of plenty, the years of deprivation, the years of struggle, the stuff that should have belonged to the impoverished guard at the gate, the things that we take thinking it won’t make any difference.
#23: Please Mr. Postman: A Stand Firm Mailbag
Matt, Jady, and Nick answer some listener questions, including what love has to do with honesty about sex, a potential referendum on abortion, and what it might mean to be called to celibacy.
What Choice Do You Have?
I had hoped to sleep off my general discouragement about losing a whole lot of writing, but instead, I gave myself one of those “sleeping” injuries—like, somehow during the night I pulled a muscle or something, and so I can’t move my neck. I’m not exactly sure why God...
Packing the Court: Why It Matters
Packing the Supreme Court will result in changes to the United States from which it will never recover.
You’re Invited!
Then, when I finally have voted, I will be invited to let my 1000 or so friends know about it by posting a picture of myself as someone who has just voted. It’s not enough to quietly do it, to work out my own conviction and accomplish the deed in my own sweet time, on the day that one is traditionally invited to vote, even with the threat of covid, I must let the world know. It’s one of the only ways to even be a good person anymore.
#22: When Push Came to Love: The Myth of Progressive Tolerance
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the recent finding by The Episcopal Church against Bishop William Love. When justice and love are defined outside the Word of God, defenders of God’s Word find themselves labeled as unjust and unloving.
Totalitarian Moments VII: Guilt is Still Hereditary in China
Totalitarianism along with its hereditary guilt is still with us and widespread if usually more subtle than Mao or Stalin.
A Faithful Witness
The church, in this case, has set itself against the revealed will of God, on purpose, after thinking about it for years and years and years, and is going to discipline those who would like to faithfully follow the scriptures and teach and admonish and help others to do so.
You’re Not The Cornerstone
I mean, obviously, the cornerstone is a metaphor. Jesus isn’t a literal stone, just like he wasn’t a physical sheep gate or a well or a grapevine—he’s a man. And yet, the metaphor of the stone is quite powerful, because of all the way it is worked through the entirety of scripture, and because of all the other metaphors relating to the church that flow out of it.
Podcast
#15: Between Moloch and a Hard Place: Voting in the Abortion Age
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss why abortion is such an important issue for Christians and what a broad view of “pro-life” really means.
#14: WAP: White Aging Pastors Talk Whores and Hip-Hop
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s hit new single, the virtue of purity in light of the Gospel, and the role of sex in a world which refuses to hear the word of God.
#13: Ladders to Heaven and a Chute to Hell: The Will and Sanctification
Jady and Nick discuss the role a Christian plays in his or her spiritual growth. They decide that there is Good News for sinners wondering about their Christian development.
#12: Easy Like Sunday Morning? Disembodied Worship and Virtual Church
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the source of Christians’ desire to gather together. God commands it in the Bible, and it edifies the body, shaping it into Christ’s image in ways that online worship cannot.
#11: My Kingdom Come? Reflections on Our Pretensions
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the “kingdom mandate.” The Good News is that Christ’s kingdom is a promise, not a commandment.
#10: Free Will was Bound to Come Up Again
Matt, Jady, and Nick continue their conversation about free will, discussing the differences between Reformed views, Pelagianism, Arminianism, and even Molinism.
#9: Robots Bound for Glory: A Reflection on Free Will
Matt, Jady, and Nick talk free will on the occasion of Independence Day. Is the biblical assertion that we are slaves bad news…or is it ultimately Good News?
#8: To Err is Human: When is a Christian Not a Christian?
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss theological errors. What’s the difference, they ask, between a Christian who is wrong about something and someone who has put themselves outside the scope of the faith?
#7: Monumental Change: The Broken Arc of History
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the removal of statues and the renaming of buildings, talk about the complicated nature of history, and rejoice in the Good News of the Gospel for people with sins in their past.
#6: A Whole New World: SCOTUS, Self-Definition, and the Christian Life
Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the Supreme Court’s recent Bostock decision, continue their exploration of the world’s anti-Gospel, and consider what the Christian life will look like in a world that, more and more, rejects Christ.
#5: Bad to the Bone: Good News and Original Sin
Matt, Jady, and Nick talk about one of Christianity’s core doctrines, original sin. How does a proper understanding of sin make the Gospel news sound all the sweeter?
#4: Race, Justice, and the Gospel: Beginning the Conversation
There’s a difficult national conversation around race and justice happening right now. What is the Good News for this divided time?
#3: Feeling All the Feels: The Holy Spirit and You
Matt, Jady, and Nick talk about the Holy Spirit, some common misunderstandings, and how the Spirit connects to the Good News about Jesus.
#2: Silence of the Lamb: Atonement Theories and the Justice of God
What does Jesus’ death on the cross mean? Matt, Jady, and Nick discuss the atonement on this episode of The Stand Firm Podcast.
#1: The Stand Firm Podcast
Jady Koch, Nick Lannon, and Matt Kennedy discuss the leftward theological and ideological drift on the part of a number of highly platformed ACNA clergy, how this drift affects the proclamation of the Gospel, and what type of Church it could produce.