Season two of Love in Context podcast welcomes you. Get ready for engaging unscripted conversations
with your hosts, Ben and Spencer. Our mission remains unchanged to explore the Bible through
the powerful lens of love. In this new season, we'll embark on a journey together, unearthing
fresh insights and gaining deeper understanding of how we can love God and live out our faith
in practical ways. So let's dive into this season of Love in Context, where love in the
context of the Bible intersect to transform our lives. Season two, Love in Context. We're
here. Our two listeners never thought we'd make it this far. All two of them. There's
Pastor Nick and then his wife and no one else. So they're like, really? You're doing a second
season just for us? And we're like, yes. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We're doing a lot of planning
for these episodes too. So, you know, it's like guest star on every one. Well, and you
know, we've had, we've had your dad on and we've had Caleb on and Sarah on. So apparently
they're not listening. They're just, uh, man, that's so good. Well, we're glad you guys
are going to be here with season two. We wanted to do a short episode. It's not going to be
a very long one. It's going to be kind of an introduction to season two. We've picked
up a lot of new listeners over the last, the last few months. And so a lot of people aren't
necessarily starting on episode one and also on episode one, I'm not really sure that we
knew what we were going to do. Like we had a kind of a general idea. So this is, I guess
you could call it the state of the podcast moving forward. Yeah. Yeah. So the, the, the
premise of loving context is engaging the scriptures in a perspective of loving God
and loving other people and understanding it from a contextual analysis of what did
it mean to the people who wrote it? Yeah. The people who heard it and what is the surrounding
culture around those, those contextual issues? And then how do we express those in love in
context in our relationship with God's day? None of that is changing. I think that we
just had more direction. And so we kind of have an idea of where kind of we're going
with these now, but we've talked about, I think we need some more voices on here. So
we've talked about moving forward. We're going to try to get some more guests. Um, and really
we're just going to be focusing right now just on local guests in our community. We're
not, we're, we're some people we know, we're not trying to get, we're not trying to get
big names on here right now. That being said, if a big name is listening and they would
like to be on you are, we could talk about it. Yeah, absolutely. But, uh, we, we really
want people who are going to engage in the conversation. There's some people I can think
about off the top of my head where I was like, yeah, like we might gain some more followers
that we put these people on, but it's also like, I don't want to get an argument. Correct.
Yeah. Right. Like we want to engage in a conversation. Yeah. I disagree through that. So, but moving
forward, we want to get more people on who want to engage in this conversation with us.
Yeah. I think, I think you guys have heard us say more than once that we're interested
in unity, not uniformity. Yeah. So already you've seen, we've seen people on the podcast
where we're from different, uh, theological backgrounds. Right. Well, we even had a comment
the other day where there were someone was like, man, I loved it when you and Ben argued
and we were like, we argued. I thought we just disagreed on something to move to. We're
so used to talking with each other that they were like, yeah, when you guys were arguing,
I was like, we were arguing. What were we arguing about? They're like this. And I was
like, oh, that wasn't an argument. We just disagreed a little bit. You should wait until
the camera got turned off. That was, that was when the argument started. Oh man. But
yeah, like to your point is, uh, like we, we will, uh, we actually have some things
out there to have some different guests who are specialists in different areas because
contextual analysis, like there are people who are good at this, right? And, uh, we want
to be able to bring those people on with their expertise, but we only have authentic conversations
because one of the things about love and context, we started realizing when we were having these
conversations is that many people aren't. Yeah. That this type of conversation is not
something that just happens where you talk about something real from the Bible and then
you're like, well, let's talk about like, how do we live this out? Well, in the type
of conversation where it's like, let's be open, authentic and wrestle with this, it
doesn't happen that often. Like a lot of times when I've actually had those conversations
with people, they've just been like, well, this is what you need to believe. And I was
like, but you have to understand this is something I struggle with or this is something I'm wrestling
through and I need someone to help me walk with me in this. I do find it peculiar how
often we approach scripture with like a blanket. This is how it is, you know, if there's one
thing I know about the fact that God created the heavens and the earth is that we have
no idea what he's doing at any point. Yeah. Right. Like I, he says he spoke the world
into existence. I don't even know what that means. Well, in Isaiah, he talks about that.
He's like, my ways are greater than your ways. And then he even goes on to say the foolishness
of God is wiser than the wisdom of man. Yeah. It is, it is interesting that we have, we
have divided ourselves over years by different theological bends. And like, there are some
reasons I totally get why like people would not necessarily fellowship together, which
have nothing to do with theological bends, but have to do with like preferential, like
ways of engaging God. Right. When the whole idea is that we're actually gathering because
we believe God's ideas are better than our ideas. Right. That we think his ways are better
than our ways. Yeah. And then we're like, but not, not, not the way you interpret his
way. Right. Right. Yeah. Right. So it's going to, we're going to have a lot of guests. So
if you have recommendations, also local listeners, you can, you can absolutely, if you're a listener
and you think, Hey, I've got a lot to add to the conversation. Well, you should be listening
as we're talking about what we're going to be doing in season two. If you're listening
and you're like, Hey, this is something that I actually really would like to have a conversation
about, send us an email. And then if we reply to you, it means we saw it. We can guarantee
we saw it. Yeah. We can guarantee we saw it. Yeah. The biggest criteria for coming on here
is not agreement, but it's a willingness to have a conversation and not argue. And I should
say argue in the sense of we're going to tell you about why I'm right and you're wrong.
Well you do that anyways. Yeah. I mean like I, there's, there's already one person who
does that way too much on here. So we need to, we need to cut down on that as much as
possible. That's the whole reason Ben asked me to do this with him. It's good. You're
very agreeable. Yeah. So in season one, we did Torah and I think it's really important
that we did that first because everything foundational that comes in scripture is going
to come after Torah. Right. So every discussion that comes in season two is based in the knowledge
of what Torah has already given us. Right. Yeah. So this we're changing pace a little
bit this year, this season, we're going to do a bunch of mini series. Yeah. That's going
to be a lot of fun. Yeah. The first one in there is actually going to be talking about
women in the Bible. So we're going to talk about women in the Old Testament, women in
the life of Jesus and in the church and in church history. And then we're going to talk
about women in ministry today. Yeah. If you listen to that series, you'd be like, wow,
you're really over emphasizing women. Yes, we are because they've been under emphasized
for so long. And we're trying to emphasize a very important part of the body of Christ.
Yeah. And what God has to say about them. Yeah. And so we know that that's a series
that might spark some disagreement among some people. We're okay with that. Yeah, we're
okay with that. We're okay. As we have said in the past, we will make content. You can
make all the comments you want. Yep. And speaking of controversy, the next one that we're going
to be talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. I can't think of how that could
possibly be controversial. Provide a little bit of background here. Right. Okay. So we
both are part of a Pentecostal church. Correct. Right. Okay. You did not grow up Pentecostal?
No, I grew up Southern Baptist. Yeah. Okay. And some of you are like, whoa, Southern Baptist
to Pentecostal. Is that possible? Well, I went Southern Baptist, non-denominational
in college, back to a Southern Baptist church, and then I went to a Pentecostal church. So
technically I'm what they call a non-Baptist. Non-Baptist. And I grew up in the Free Methodist
church. Yeah. Then I spent time in the Foursquare church in Nazarene church, Baptist church,
and back to Free Methodist, now Pentecostal. Yeah. So we've been all over the map and it's
not that we disagree with any of the other denominations that was listed, right? This
is just where the Lord has us for the season and time. That's right. That's the right church
we're... So with that said, we're going to be coming at that from a wide perspective.
Yeah. So I think the temptation when we start talking about the gifts of the Spirit is we're
actually going to talk about how do you engage us in one of two ways. Yeah. There are people
who believe that the expression is for today. So when we're talking about tongues or we're
talking about prophecy, we're talking about healing, these are expressions of the day.
But we also want to have on the flip side of that conversation, if God is not engaging
you that way. Yeah. How do you engage these texts in a way that brings you into deeper
relationship with God and puts the fruit of the Spirit on display? Yeah. And so this is
not going to just be just a, hey, this is what you should do. And if you do anything
else, you're wrong because we want to have real conversations about it. Yeah. And there's
lots of points where we struggle and wrestle with this. So that's going to be a series
that we do. We're super excited for that one. And then coming out of the expression of the
Spirit, like how does the Spirit move in people's life, the spiritual gifts. We're going to
actually talk through the entire Bible and talk about the covenants that show up. Yeah.
Starting with the Adamic and Noahic covenant going into Abrahamic all the way to the Messianic
covenant in Jesus Christ to the way that we make covenants with the people around us.
Yeah. It's really important that we understand this covenantal language that's going on inside
of the Bible. Yeah. And that's going to be a really like just fun series. Yeah. And then
we're going to move into a little bit of a different series as well called Kings and
Kingdoms. And we're going to talk about a series of Kings in the Old Testament that
are not Jewish Kings. Correct. The non-Jewish Kings. Non-Jewish Kings. Examples might be
like Sennacherib. Uh-huh. Which everyone's like, wait, what? What did you just say? Yeah.
He did not say Snickers, I promise. I would love a Snickers. But we're going to be talking
about some Kings like Nicotus was one of the pharaohs, Nebuchadnezzar, a few others, all
right? Like... We'll even be talking about Herod the Great and Caesar Augustus, like
some different things. So we're going to be talking about great Kings in the surrounding
nations, the role they actually played in either persecuting the Jewish people or Christians
and how that actually was a fulfillment of what the Lord's call was at that time. Like
we're going to be talking a lot about that stuff. By the way, if you're thinking you're
like, what does this actually have to do with living in the Bible today? I got news for
you that most of us live in a country that's not actually run by somebody who's a passionate
follower of Jesus. There's actually a lot we can learn about living in Babylon. A lot
of the stuff we can learn about living in Babylon. Yeah. So that's going to be a great
series. Super excited for it. And then we're going to move into one of my favorite books
in the Bible. And a lot of people... I'm going to do a little bit of a teaser on this, but
not much. But we're going to do a series on the book of James. I think you mean Jacob.
Jacob? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So the book of... We'll explain that joke when we get
there. Yeah. One of the things about the book of James that's really funny is a lot of times
people are like, oh, we love it because it's very, very black and white and it's very new
covenant. We even know 95% of it's quotes from Torah. Which some of you heard that.
You might got a little triggered by that, but we're going with it. Right? Yeah. But
when we get there, you're going to be surprised how often James is saying something. You're
like, oh, I remember in Leviticus when it said this. Oh, I remember in Deuteronomy when
Ben and Spencer were talking about it and it said this. I remember when Pastor Seirot
was on it, it said this. Right? So we're going to do... That one's going to be a bit of a
change of pace for us because we're actually going to break that out into like six or seven
weeks for a five chapter book. Yeah. So we've been doing big swaths of four or five chapters
at a time. So we're actually going to change pace and do a few verses at a time. Yeah.
And part of that is anytime that we're quoting from the book of James, we're going to have
to go, where is he quoting from? And then get the context to where he's quoting from.
Because he's going to assume that we know where he's talking from, pulling it into his
conversation in the day that is sent to the Jews of that day. Yeah. And it takes a little
while to actually parse that out. Yeah, it does. And then season two will conclude with
a study we're going to call Little Book, Big Message. These are all the single chapter
books that you can find in the Bible. So Obadiah, Jude, Philemon, second John, third John, and
I think that's it. I was thinking Titus, but I was thinking no, Titus was three. Yeah,
three, like two or three chapters. Yeah. And I think that's pretty much it. Yeah. Yeah.
Just talking about how these books are packed with a ton of content. Now, one of the things
that I have seen, especially with the book of Jude, is that, you know, the thing we've
talked about in our stories, that people use the Bible to attack each other. Yeah. Jude
is one of those books that people use a lot. And so we're really going to, we're going
to really get into Jude and talk about what is Jude addressing. Because we use the dressings
on very specific things. And then we have appropriated that in our offensive against
people we don't like. Yeah. And that's not cool. And again, it's going to be a bit of
a change of pace because these are short books. And so again, it's going to be, hey, we are
tackling one chapter in one week. Yeah. And it's going to be, so it'll be a little bit
of a change of pace for us, but we're excited. Interdispersed in there, we will have a number
of Q&As. I believe we'll have one in about mid season. So that'd be like 25-ish episodes
in and then one at the end of the season. So with that being said, if you still have
questions and they can be Torah, they can be things we haven't talked about, like just
throw them out there and we'll see if we can get them down the Q&A. I think actually at
the next Q&A, I would like to get some other people besides us answer some questions too.
There's going to be a lot of really good guests. I know for sure that we have a pastor Sarah
is going to come back. And I've talked to Les and Laura Kronk. They're going to be visiting.
Pastor Nick is going to be on at some point. I doubt we can get his wife on. That's a pretty
hard pass for her. I'm sure. I'm definitely going to try though, because she would hate
it. That's the only reason he'll try is because she'll hate it. Spencer's dad is, we'll be
back on Ed McDowell. We also have one of the captains from the Salvation Army is going
to be joining us. That's going to be fun. Just a lot of different people and we have
more that we are looking to book out. Guys, it's going to get really fun. Yeah. It's going
to be a lot of fun what we're doing. I hope you are excited for the journey as we are.
With that being said, stay tuned. Next week we're going to be posting our first episode
in our women in ministry. We're excited for that. We are. Until then, you can find us
on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You can email us at loveandcontext.gmail.com. When you're
thinking you're like, Hey, those hair ticks, that's where you actually send it is loveandcontext.gmail.com.
If you address your email like, Hey, hair ticks, and then do a response, great. I'll
read it still. That's great. If you include your address, I'll probably send you a cookie
because I think that's hilarious. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll send you a devil's food cookie. If
you title email, Hey, hair ticks, in love and context, we will send you deviled eggs.
Deviled eggs. Yeah. Make sure you don't send us that from too far away. I'm just joking.
We won't do that, but we're super excited for season two. There's going to be some great,
great content in here. Some great guests. It's going to be a lot of fun and just wait
until you hear about season three. We already have ideas. Let's get season two first. Yeah.
Like how to properly cook rabbit stew. Yeah. That's exactly it. That's exactly what we're
going for. I was going to say the proper technique of playing halo, but yeah. Yeah. All right
guys. We're glad you could be with us. Take care.
And that's a wrap for today's episode of love and context. We hope you enjoyed this
engaging conversation and gained valuable insights into the powerful message of love
within the Bible. We'd love to hear from you and continue the conversation. Connect with
us by sending us your questions, thoughts, and suggestions to loveandcontext at gmail.com.
We greatly appreciate your feedback and ideas for future episodes. Stay connected with us
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community. Thank you for being part of the love and context family. Remember love is
at the heart of it all until next time. Keep seeking wisdom, embracing love, and living
out your faith in the context of today's world.
Cause I'm tired. I'm so tired. I was so tired. Well, yeah, I mean, he picked up an extra
chip. You look so much smaller than me. I need to back up like that's your job or don't
worry about it. Yeah. Um, that's so small. Stupid my brother. Okay. All right. He's not
a listener. He's not actually, he keeps, he keeps saying, he's like, oh, maybe I'll listen.
He's like, he's like, you have any good guests? I was like, don't want to listen to you dog.
And my defense, I am his younger brother. One of the first series that we're going to tackle
right out of the, right out of the bucket. That's definitely a saying it is now right
out of the bucket.