Bible Geeks Podcast

Face Trials Together

How would your life's biggest trials have turned out without a friend to bear your load? Scripture says “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov. 17:17). This week, in the penultimate episode of this season (and of our Two by Two study), we reflect on the support we find in good companions when everything falls apart. We build an A Team of Friends Through Adversity, learning from the examples of Bible all-stars Ruth & Naomi and Aaron & Hur. Finding Jesus in Galatians 6 leads us back to a Martin Luther serm...

Push Friends to Deeper Devotion

Everybody loves getting poked in the eye, right? No, it’s never fun on either end of those “we need to talk” moments between friends, yet the Bible calls a friend’s wounds “faithful” (Prov. 27:6). So session 7 of our Two by Two study focuses on how friends sharpen each other like iron on iron (Prov. 27:17). It may sound like we’re contradicting ourselves after we just discussed a “circle of safety,” so we ask “What’s the Deal?” with that and harmonize these two crucial aspects of friendship. We also learn from Jesus’ example of tellin...

Establish Trust and Openness

How are fickle companions like imaginary friends? In session six of our friendship study, we explore how trust, loyalty, and honesty change our interactions. One of the gifts of friendship is knowing someone has your back and feeling safe to share what’s really happening in your life. So this week we dig into Four Proverbs on dependable friends, learning how gossip makes us clam up and how someone’s investment in you makes you want to hear their counsel. We also look to Jesus, the perfect friend, and hear how he redefines the...

Care Enough to Listen

How can we give our friendships a boost by lending an ear? Where did Eli go wrong and where did he get it right with Hannah? And what’s the deal with those brackets around John 7:53-8:11 in modern Bibles? Session 5 of the Two By Two study focuses on listening as a core friendship trait. We look at the story of a woman caught in adultery and one about a woman accused of drunkenness. In both, we notice the value of waiting to speak. Find more of this study — like videos and study guid...

Treasure the Stories of Scripture

The results are in and the votes counted. This year’s Bible Bracket has gone from a field of 64 beloved Bible stories down to one. On this episode we walk through some lessons learned from our Final Four and celebrate the life-changing power of Scripture’s many rich stories. We also share our own personal favorites and upsets and discuss what Jesus Said about his parables. A big thank you to all who shared, commented, and participated in this year’s tournament. Go to biblegeeks.fm/bracket to see the full bracket.

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Love Others as Yourself

What happens when you expect a friend to never let you down or have a fault? How do we stay steady and reliable in our love for others? Here, in session four of our Two By Two study, we get to the heart of friendship. We work through how we look out for each other — from demonstrating mercy to friends to saying “I love you” without making it weird. We’re breaking out some of Scripture’s greatest hits — like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and Paul’s great Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13) — to apply Christlike...

Overcome the Obstacles to Getting Close

How do our fears, anxieties, and differences get in the way of forming new and deeper relationships? In session three of our “Two By Two” study of friendship, we face the fact that sometimes making friends isn’t easy. We share some Deep Thoughts about Paul’s great ode to humility in Philippians 2:1-11. We also look to the example of Jesus and his diverse collection of followers and share our own struggles with growing close to different groups of people. Go to biblegeeks.fm/twobytwo for the study guides and videos...

Treasure the Stories of Scripture

Spring is in the air, March Madness is on TV, and you know what that means over here at the Bible Geeks: It’s Bible Bracket time! This year’s bracket focuses on “Favorite Bible Stories,” celebrating the greatest hits of the world’s greatest book with four “regionals”: Profound Parables, Ancient Heroes, Sunday School Classics, and Jesus in Action. On this episode of the podcast, we draft the 64 stories that we’ll encourage everyone to vote on in the bracket. In a few weeks, we’ll have another episode featuring the results and talkin...

Make Some Room for Friendship

Is it just us, or is it hard to find room for all the friendships you want to maintain? Sometimes we feel guilt over not being close to everyone in the church, and other times we wonder how we’ll make the time to connect with anyone at a substantive level! So here, in session 2 of our Two by Two guided study, we notice how Jesus tended to friendships and take a Closer Look at Paul’s band of close partners. We discuss some particular challenges each of us has run into and...

Realize the Power of Community

We’re back and excited to start a new guided study on friendship called “Two By Two.” This first study comes from the Bible’s encouragement to value and invest in building these bonds. Four Proverbs on Friends remind us to choose our companions carefully and value quality over quantity. We learn from how Jesus sent the disciples out that he wants us to team up, and we ask, “What gets in the way of the kind of close friendships we want?” We pray this series enriches your relationships as you study along with u...