Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life
by ReFrame Ministries
Groundwork is a half-hour conversation that digs deeply into Scripture, the foundation for our lives. Each week, pastors Dave Bast (president of Words of Hope) and Scott Hoezee (director of CEP at Calvin Seminary) cultivate our understanding of God's Word by unpacking the richness of the Bible and applying it with insight to today's world.
Episodes
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The Pain and Struggle of Unanswered Prayer
Many believers in all seasons of life understand what it feels like to fervently pray for the desires of their hearts. One listener wrote to us about the sorrow he endured due to childlessness despite his prayers, and the isolation and stigma he experienced in church as a result. He asked us to...
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Your Questions about Judas, Salvation, Sharing Faith, and Praying for Nonbelievers
Listeners like you send us their questions about theology and faith as they study God’s Word. Was Judas saved even though he betrayed Jesus? How do I share my faith with non-believers? What if people I love are resistant to hearing about Jesus? How should I pray for people who are unsaved? Join…
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Finding Meaning in Life and the Passing of Time
As humans, we are uniquely aware of time. We talk about the passing of time, we think about the end of time, and we often wish for more time. Sometimes it feels like time is fleeting and sometimes feels like time drags on. Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes contains one of the book’s most well-known...
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A Wise Perspective on Work
Do you find joy and satisfaction in your work? Or do you consider work a necessary evil? Many of us spend huge portions of our life working, sometimes doing paid work, other times unpaid. You might say that work is a common theme in each of our lives. It’s also a common theme in the book of...
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When Life is Meaningless
Does life ever feel repetitive, monotonous? Like day in, day out your struggles are the same, your joys seem fleeting, and nothing ever changes. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes echoed this very sentiment. Throughout the book, we repeatedly read his refrain, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is...
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Live as People of God's Unshakeable Kingdom
Hebrews shows us why we should remain faithful to Jesus and how to cultivate a faith that endures. Now, as Hebrews concludes, the author shows us how to live and the kind of people we should be when our confidence is in Christ alone. Learn about God’s loving discipline, the unshakable kingdom…
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Faith that Endures
How do we cultivate a lasting faith? The author of Hebrews calls believers to stay close to Jesus, remaining faithful in all circumstances. After summarizing Christ’s supremacy in all things, the author launches into one of the most famous passages in Hebrews, a whole chapter dedicated to those…
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Jesus' Sacrifice is Complete and Makes Us Holy
Humans are sinful; therefore, the feeling of guilt is inevitable. Guilt has weight; it becomes a burden we struggle under even after we know we’ve been forgiven. The author of Hebrews offers weary believers reassurance that God has provided the means to deal with our guilt once and for all. Let’s...
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Jesus is the High Priest Who Meets Our Needs
Do you ever feel alone, like no one understands what you’re going through? The author of Hebrews encourages us to stay close to Jesus in these moments. To help us understand the extent to which Jesus understands, cares about, and meets our needs, Hebrews draws a connection between Jesus Christ…
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Hear God's Voice: A Warning Against Unbelief
Life is full of many seasons. Some of these seasons are difficult, making us feel weary and under pressure. In those seasons, the author of Hebrews urges us to hear God’s voice and resist the temptation to drift away from our faith, returning to what’s comfortable and forgetting all God has done...
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Jesus is Our Life
Hebrews begins by showing us Jesus is God’s final word, fully divine and fully human. Written to Jewish Christians in the early church, Hebrews addressed their discouragement in the face of persecution. It warned them against drifting away from their faith, because it was in Jesus and his gospel...
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What Happens After We Die?
We all experience the reality of death. Far too often, it is the painful loss of a loved one. Our age or a medical diagnosis might also cause us to face the inevitability of our own death. These emotionally heavy times leave us longing for comfort and asking big questions. What happens after we...
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What is Heaven?
We’re all familiar with the concept of heaven as a place people go after they die. Many Christian hymns and songs talk about heaven. Faithful believers talk about longing to go to heaven. Movies, books, cartoons, and other art forms attempt to visualize heaven. But what is heaven according to the...
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God Works Through Flawed People
As we study the closing chapters of 1 Samuel, we read about David’s encounter with Nabal and Abigail, Saul’s desperate decision to visit a medium, and finally, Saul’s tragic death. In these accounts, we see both Saul's and David’s imperfections, yet a striking difference in their attitudes toward...
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Saul and David: Envy, Conflict, and Broken Shalom
God anointed Saul as the first King of Israel. Yet, his leadership of Israel was inconsistent. In 1 Samuel, he waffled back and forth between loving and hating David, the leader of his armies, and unbeknownst to him, the one God chose to be Israel’s next king. In the ups and downs in Saul’s life,...
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God Calls and Prepares David
As humans, we are drawn to strong, confident leaders. In 1 Samuel, God assures us that he’s not looking at appearances. As we study the accounts of David’s anointing and his battle with Goliath, we’ll learn what God looks for in the heart of a leader. We’ll see how God prepares the people he…
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God Gives Israel a King
We want a lot of things in life. Some of those are good for us; some aren’t. Some align with God's will for us, and some don't. Does God ever allow us to receive what we want, even though we will regret it one day? When we study the account of Israel’s first king, Saul, we see what happens when…
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The Power of God's Presence and A Call for Repentance
When we feel vulnerable, we naturally seek reassurance. We want to hold onto something tangible for comfort. Throughout the Bible, God promises to be with his people, and many of us find his presence extremely comforting. But what happens when we think of God’s presence as something we can...
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God Speaks Judgment and Calls Samuel
When corruption and darkness seem to be in control, we may find it hard to hear and see God. Together, we can learn where to look for God and discover hope even when life's situations seem hopelessly unjust and bleak, as in the stories of Israel, the high priest Eli, Eli’s corrupt sons, and Samuel.
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Hannah's Prayer and God's Big Answer
Sometimes the deepest prayers are the ones nobody hears but God. When Hannah poured out her pain and longing before God, the people around her did not understand. But God understood and answered her prayer. Studying Hannah’s sorrow, prayer, and song of praise in the opening chapters of 1 Samuel...
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God Makes All Things New
The fourth major theme of the Bible is that of consummation, the time when God will complete his redemptive plan and make all creation new. Join us as we study biblical passages that describe a future where God’s presence eradicates suffering and evil, and brings justice and eternal joy. We’ll…
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God Redeems
The biblical theme of redemption is unique to Christian theology and sets Christianity apart from other religions. Join us as we trace God’s story of redemption from Genesis through the Old Testament to the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Together, we’ll learn how our loving God…
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Humanity Falls
Just after the story of creation, the Bible tells us the story of humanity’s fall. The immediate result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden was alienation from God and relational discord. It released sin and brokenness into the world with all the strife, suffering, and decay we…
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God Creates
The Bible begins with an origin story: God’s creation of our world and of us, his image bearers. It’s a story that introduces us to our loving Creator God and the theme of creation that echoes throughout the Bible. Join us as we study the creation theme and discuss what it reveals to us about…
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How to Live in Christ
Throughout the book of Galatians, Paul makes it very clear that we can’t do anything to earn our salvation. So, do our actions and behavior even matter? Keeping laws and customs won’t benefit our salvation at all, but that doesn’t mean our actions don’t matter. Paul explains the importance of...
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Understanding the Purpose of God's Law
In Galatians 3 and 4, Paul continues to impress upon the new believers in Galatia that salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by their works nor by their ability to follow the Mosaic law. Paul explores in depth the contrasting paths of legalism and freedom in faith. As we…
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The Cross of Jesus is the Only Way
As Paul continues his letter to the Galatian Christians, he continues to address their confusion about salvation. He tells them that the esteemed leaders in Jerusalem affirmed Paul’s message of salvation and his calling to preach to the Gentiles. He reiterates that Jewish customs like…
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Salvation Through Jesus Christ Alone
The Christian faith spread as Paul and the other apostles traveled around and shared the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. However, after Paul left Galatia, other teachers came in and added to his message, spreading false truths about the requirements needed to receive salvation. When...
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Jesus' Death, Burial, and Resurrection
We’ve reached the pinnacle moments of salvation history in our Stations of the Cross journey. As we arrive at the thirteenth and fourteenth Stations of the Cross, we witness Jesus’ suffering, death, and burial. Commemorating these events every year on Good Friday poignantly reminds us of how much...
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Jesus on the Cross
Even as he hung dying on the cross, Jesus showed compassion and mercy when he offered words of salvation to a crucified thief and established a new, spiritual family. Witness the eleventh and twelfth Stations of the Cross, one of the shortest prayers in the Bible, and learn what these stations…
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The Daughters of Jerusalem and Jesus' Crucifixion
Arriving at Golgotha, Jesus spoke a harrowing warning to the women he saw weeping for him along the road. At the ninth Station of the Cross, we’ll examine the warning Jesus gave the women he called “Daughters of Jerusalem.” Then comes the tenth Station of the Cross: Jesus’ crucifixion. With awe…
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Carrying Jesus' Cross on the Road to Golgotha
In our exploration of the Stations of the Cross during this Lenten season, we’ve reached stations seven and eight. Here, we reflect on Jesus’ movement toward Golgotha as he takes up the cross and steps onto the road where the soldiers draw a stranger from the crowd to help Jesus carry the weight…
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Jesus: Judged, Beaten, and Crowned with Thorns
The emotional weight of what Jesus suffers gets heavier as we journey through the Stations of the Cross during Lent. At station five, we read about Jesus before the Roman governor, Pilate. We’ll consider who Pilate was in history and why his presence is important. Then, at station six, we…
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Jesus: Condemned by Religious Leaders and Denied by Peter
After witnessing Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, we move to the next two Stations of the Cross, the third and fourth. First, we see Jesus before the Sanhedrin, a council of religious leaders who condemned him, and then we join Peter outside in the courtyard where he denies Jesus, not...
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In the Garden of Gethsemane: Jesus Prays, Judas Betrays, and Jesus is Arrested
When Jesus' time had finally come, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It is there, during the season of Lent, that we begin following Jesus on his road to the cross, through the first two stations in the traditional Stations of the Cross. Join us as we discuss the long history of this...
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When Forgiveness is Complicated
There are situations in life when forgiveness seems especially difficult, maybe even impossible. For example, how do I forgive myself? What if someone died before I could offer them forgiveness? Is it possible to forgive someone who is not sorry? Do I have to forgive someone who keeps hurting me?...
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What it Means to Forgive and Why it Matters
We live our lives in a sin-filled world: brokenness and grievances will happen. God calls us to forgive those who sin against us, but we understandably have questions about how exactly that plays out in our everyday lives. Let’s explore Scripture to learn what forgiveness is and what it is not....
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The Biblical Meaning of Forgiveness
Telling someone they need to forgive somebody else is easy. We use the phrase “forgive and forget” in our human efforts to restore relationships, but is that really what forgiveness means? Ultimately, forgiveness begins with God. Together, we’ll let Scripture teach us what forgiveness is, when…
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Saved by Grace Alone. Let Your Works Respond Accordingly.
The apostle Paul wrote extensively about salvation and the Christian life. He firmly teaches that we are saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. He also teaches how believers ought to behave. Join us as we study Paul’s teachings in his letter to early Christians....
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Did Paul and James Agree on Salvation?
Protestant Christians around the world believe that we receive salvation by grace alone through faith, as the apostle Paul taught. And yet, we also come across the words of James: “Faith without works is dead.” This seeming contradiction has led believers of every generation to wonder, “Do the...
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Grace is the Root, Our Works are the Fruit
If we are saved by grace, what is the purpose of our works? If God does it all, do our works matter? We all long for purpose, but in our daily lives as Christ’s disciples, we can find it challenging to understand the relationship between grace and works. Our thoughts and expectations might…
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God's Covenants and Our Salvation
We may experience some tension when trying to discern the relationship between God’s grace and our works as it relates to our salvation. This is understandable if we limit our study to the writings of Paul and James in the New Testament. However, by revisiting God’s original covenants with…
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Reflecting the Light of the World
Twelve days after Christmas every year, churches around the world mark the day of Epiphany, remembering the appearance of the star to the Magi. The light of the star led the Magi to Jesus; this event signifies the extension of God’s family to include Gentiles, which had a profound effect on the...
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The Light of the World Among Us
Together, let’s explore the moment the prophet Isaiah’s anticipation of light becomes the reality of the Light of the World among us. We’ll explore the profound meaning of Christ’s light shining in our world by examining Bible passages that describe his birth, life, and the hope he brings, and…
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Out of Darkness and into the Light
Light changes everything. A lamp illuminates the room, giving clarity to our surroundings. Dawn brings daylight that transforms the landscape and banishes the uncertainties of night. What happens when the Light of the World arrives? The Bible shows us how Jesus Christ illuminates our lives and…
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Preparing for the Light of the World
Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world. During Advent, we celebrate his birth and look forward to his second coming. Let’s discuss what it means to prepare our souls for the hope and illumination that Jesus brings, and learn what it means to live in the light of Christ with expectation.
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Waiting for the Light of the World
Advent is a season of waiting. We’re waiting for the Light of the World. The Bible uses the imagery of light from Genesis to Revelation. Exploring the Bible’s theme of light from the beginning, through the prophets, in the gospels, and in the prophecies of Revelation gives us a fuller…
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Blessed are...the Merciful, the Pure in Heart, the Peacemakers, and those Who are Persecuted
Discover what Jesus taught us about the heart and mind of an ideal disciple. Join us as we examine the remaining beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5:7-12 with our guest, Danny Daley. Together, we’ll explore what Jesus taught us when he described the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and...
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Blessed are....the Poor in Spirit, those Who Mourn, the Meek, and those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
The Beatitudes have provided generations of Christians comfort, guidance, and strength for their faith. Join Groundwork as we study the first four of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-6 to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, and to hunger and...
About this show
Groundwork is a half-hour conversation that digs deeply into Scripture, the foundation for our lives. Each week, pastors Dave Bast (president of Words of Hope) and Scott Hoezee (director of CEP at Calvin Seminary) cultivate our understanding of God's Word by unpacking the richness of the Bible and applying it with insight to today's world.
Hosted by
ReFrame Ministries
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