Sound in Faith
Season 1
Why Do We Pray The Word?
Why Do We Sing The Word?
Is Church Membership Biblical?
How Important is Church?
Ask Anything 3
Ask Anything 2
What is a False Teacher?
What is Advent?
Why are we Baptists?
by Sound in Faith
On this week's episode we're joined by Dana Olson who served as the lead pastor of Faith Baptist Fellowship for 14 years. He shares his insights on what it means to pray the word, and how it's critical to our gathered and personal worship. What do we mean by the phrase, “Praying the Word?” How does prayer fit into our gathered worship? Do we pray too long? You have made prayer a centerpiece of your ministry. Can you share what that has looked like through the years? How did prayer shape your pastoral ministry? How has prayer shaped Faith Baptist Fellowship? Tell us about your ministry focus now. How do we continue to be a praying church (and could we be in danger of slipping from that)? How would you encourage other pastors, who wish to push their churches to be praying churches?
What are the elements of worship? (Briefly recap) Is singing in corporate worship something Scripture instructs us to do? What types of songs should we sing? What do we mean when we say we “sing the word”? Does this mean we’re only going to sing Scripture set to music? Why do we sing the songs that we sing at Faith? Are there some songs we don’t sing? Why? Why do we sing the way we do? (e.g. standing, words on the screen, etc.) Why are the musicians on stage now? Who is the “Worship Team?” Listener Questions: Do you believe that the leper in Mark 1:40-45 messed with the timeline that Jesus had planned for being here on earth? – Anna Flowers What is the significance of Jesus raising on the third day rather than the first, second, or fourth? – Elijah Myers
What is church membership? Is church membership biblical? How does membership help Christians? Churches? Do I have to be a member of a local church to be saved? What about those who object to membership, but are just as committed to the local church? How do people become members of Faith? (Requirements) What has been your journey with church membership? Listener questions:
New Year, New Priorities: why an episode on the church now? How would you describe a “good church”? How would you describe a “good church member”? Isn’t it legalism to insist that Christians go to church? Why not? Is the church a means of grace? In what ways? What about when traveling, sports, etc.? Suggestions for those on the periphery of church life? Suggestions for those who don’t like church? Can you share how the church has impacted your life?
According to Luke 2, everyone went to his own town to register because of the the required census. Did Joseph have no family who was also returning to register or who lived there still who would’ve been with them also? It always appears that they are alone and looking for lodging but I would think there would be other family also along unless the family was perhaps not supportive of the situation. Do either of you have any insight to share or to direct my Bible study? – Anonymous What advice would you give to a Christian couple who disagree on which church to worship at? And what are your thoughts on the couple alternating attendance together at two different churches to satisfy each person's preference? – Anonymous Last Sunday, two of the worship songs mentioned the word “dayspring”. I know it refers to Jesus, but where does it come from and what exactly does it mean? – Mary Berger Can you address how different religions view the Trinity? How do they justify this with all the scriptural evidence? – Brad Paulson What is the right way for Christians to approach IVF, and other reproductive technologies? These practices are commonplace in the medical community and are rife with ethical considerations while typically being rooted in deep emotion. From a Christian perspective, how might you advise a family considering IVF? (In specific the creation selection implantation or destruction of embryos) – Anonymous What are your thoughts on alcohol consumption? Biblically and personally. Love you guys! – Max Reagen Fasting is referenced several times in the Bible. What are some ways that I should be using fasting today? – Max Reagen What is the relationship between the church and scripture? Here's the context of my question - on the topic of biblical sexual morality, we had a former President of the US refer to Romans 1:24-26 as "obscure verses" really didn't apply to whether or not homosexuality was a sin or not. Other more recent talk show pundits have stated that "Jesus never mentioned homosexuality", therefore it must not be condemned by us. – Shannon Begeman How did the Catholic Church End up believing that works get you into heaven. - Anonymous
Is there any evidence or direct sign that Jesus or Paul read Cicero’s works or attended Greek plays? – Ben Jones What do you put on top of your Christmas tree? An angel, star, snowflake, Santa, etc.? – Max Reagan What are some false teachers you'd recommend avoiding? – Max Reagan In Revelation 7:4, the Bible talks about 144,000 from the tribes of Israel. Do you think this is symbolic, or will each tribe be equally represented? – Anonymous If God created Satan in Heaven and am thinking it is perfect there with God, then how did Satan sin— with pride and desire to be God. Do angels have free will? Is this actually the original sin? -Anonymous How do you know what is a good work from the lord for today? -Maya Johnson How do you fight discontentment? – Anonymous How do you teach children to be selfless and not grow up narcissistic? – Anonymous How do faith and works intersect / what does that look like? – Kristen Huls What do we know and believe about the second coming? – Anonymous Is snow a consequence of the fall of man. – Mike Johnson On a scale of 9-10, how woke is Pastor Mike? – Thomas Slawson
What is false teaching and what is a false teacher? Are there theological errors that do not rise to the level of false teaching? Is it possible to be too quick to label someone a false teacher? Also, how do we balance charity and firmness in this process? False teaching was a serious issue in the church in the early church. Is it really still an issue in the church in America? What is the risk connected to false teaching? How do we spot false teaching in the church, and what do we do about it? Are there ways a church can safeguard against false teaching? Listener questions: What does it mean to take the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner?”
Introduction What is Advent and how is it different than Christmas? Does Advent only look back? What is the value for churches to celebrate Advent? The critic might say, “every month should be Advent”. Do you find much value in liturgical-type calendars? What is the value of seasons and rhythms. What can be the risks/things to avoid in church traditions/liturgies/calendars, etc.? Any word for the new pastor (or elder team) as he considers starting an Advent tradition in his church? What is Faith Baptist doing for Advent? What are you trusting the Lord to do through that? How can we encourage our listeners to make the most of Advent? Listener questions:Becky Stroman (From Faith Card) - Should a tithe be taken from gross or net income? Does only the giving to a home church count as a tithe or do donations to other ministries count also? Delaney Lucht - What made you come to know/ have faith in Jesus? Elijah Myers - How many chickens would it take to kill an elephant?
Introduction Why are there different denominations? Does denominationalism = disunity? What are Baptists, and how are they different from other denominations (e.g., Presbyterians, Anglicans, etc.)? What are some Baptist distinctives that you love most? What are some common Baptist stereotypes? Is there truth to them? Do Baptists hold to no creed but the Bible? “The slogan “No creed but the Bible” conceals the fact that in almost any group, crucial biblical statements will be properly understood by some and misunderstood by others. In such cases, it is naïve to say that the Bible unites us. It may not be uniting us at all. It may be a vague cloak for significant disunity. And that doesn’t honor the Scriptures.” - John Piper What are some of the benefits of an elder-led, congregationalist polity? A few Baptist “heroes”? Listener Questions:
In this episode we delve into a bit of a spicy topic as we enter into what promises to be a very divisive, ugly, and contentious election year. How should we as Christians live in light of what we hold to be true. Does our faith affect how we vote? We address these questions and more on the episode. Introduction How should Christians view themselves in society – regarding their citizenship, patriotism, etc.? Is Christianity Republican? Is it Democrat? Is it out of fear or weakness that we mention little about specific political issues or candidates on Sunday mornings? If not, why do we not go there much? Are there political issues that we should talk about on Sundays? We are entering another contentious political season in US politics. What advice would you offer Christians as we seek to be faithful to the Lord and love our neighbors? What hope is there for Christians as we see our society fray? Describe the best form of government ever! Listener Questions (s):Bruce Watley - Scripture tells us that If we fail to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance we can cause it to grieve (Eph. 4:30) and if we continually persist ignoring the prompts, the Holy Spirit will be quenched (1 Tim. 4:1-2). So, from a ministry perspective I have been reflecting on the question if a believer walks away from following Christ, can or will the Holy Spirit ever be reignited to convict them of their sin or is the Holy Spirit simply quenched forever in that person? How can we as a congregation minister to someone in this situation who is desperately in need of a heart transplant – removing a heart of stone and given a new heart of flesh? Suzy Jones - Why do we use the ESV Bible? How important is it that we use the same translation as the church? Is there any Bible translation that you would not recommend?