PODCAST · religion
Save My Darlings
by Tom
I'm the lead pastor of Coast Bible Church in Orange County, CA. In this weekly podcast I talk about the stuff that I think is interesting or theologically pregnant or super complicated but didn’t quite make the weekly sermon. Check us out at coastbible.org!
Episodes
-
Pain is What You Make It (kind of)
Ever hear people talk about "eliminating suffering"? Or maybe you imagine heaven is a place with "no pain" (cf. Revelation 21:4). This week I show you that pain is actually baked into the human experience, what that means for us, and how parts of heaven itself might be difficult. The question is...
-
Pride is the Problem
If you've ever wondered what is at the center of human disorder, the answer we get from Genesis 3 and Romans 5 is pride. See what the first sin was, what God did about it, and how we can respond to re-receive edenic joy.
-
Stay in Your Lane
Part of the secret of enjoying God is, according to Psalm 37, "staying in your lane." Here we parse a bit of controversial Hebrew and show how "farming faithfulness" is essential to being able to "relax and enjoy watching God be God." A very small bit of Hebrew with some HUGE consequences for how...
-
AI Needs You to be Right with God!
Not sure if this is surprising or not, but one of the things I've learned from working with AI is how much our personal relationship with God, Scripture, and the church will impact our ability to use it safely. In this episode, I break down how AI can be amazingly helpful in our thinking and...
-
Life's Not Fair!?!
My dad used to tell me, "Life's not fair" whenever I complained about not getting what I wanted. Well, God does something similar to Moses in Numbers 20 and it is a doozy. Is God not fair? Is life not fair? What can or should we expect from God? Find out how the Bible thinks about fairness and why.
-
Living the Contradiction
When God reveals his nature and character in Exodus 34, he seems to indicate that he is a living contradiction, or at least what appears to be a contradiction to us. He says he's faithful and forgiving to 1,000 generations BUT he doesn't let the guilty off the hook and their children and...
-
Evangelism a Better Way
Are there people in your life you wish would come to faith? Do you have a hard time sharing the gospel? Israel's story in Exodus 18 shows the first "convert" to God's Way--and neither Moses nor any other Israelite has to lift a finger to make it happen! Maybe the Bible offers a new pattern for…
more -
CBC The Last Thing You Want is What You Want
In Numbers 11:33, older translations say that God hit the Israelites with a "great plague," but that's not what the Hebrew word makkah means. Find out what it does mean and why it matters (a whole bunch!) and how God's response to their complaining helps us make sense of Ecclesiastes AND the...
-
Wait, God Tried to Kill Who?!?
In a very odd text in Exodus 4, we learn that "God tried to kill Moses." This is right after Moses has set out to do exactly what God wanted him to do. Why!?!? What is going on? There are some hints, and I think we can learn a ton from this section, but it isn't straightforward at all. So in this...
-
What the Bible Leaves Out
A lot of times the Bible leaves out all kinds of interesting details when it tells stories. Why? Part of what is going on involves how the Bible leaves space for us and our stories too. Listen to hear more!
-
How to Read the Bible: Faith vs. Faithfulness in the New Testament
It's sometimes difficult to understand what "trust," "believe," and "faith" mean in the Bible--especially the New Testament--because the Greek word behind all three is usually the same one: "pistis." And this matters a bunch because we need to know what is asked of us when we're told to "believe"...
-
Is the Spiritual World Supposed to Scare Us?
The Bible contains a lot of pretty scary stuff from the spiritual world. We saw the Seraphim on Sunday and in the last podcast and, let's be honest, from our perspective these "Burning Ones" seem like monsters. So are we supposed to be scared of all that? The answer is a little bit Yes and a…
more -
What Do We Do with Monstrous Visions in the Bible?
Read the Bible enough and you will encounter some weird stuff. On Sunday, we ran into the "Seraphim," or "Burning Ones," who had six wings and set things on fire! What do we make of stuff like that? In this episode I give some explanation of what the Seraphim are and how we might interpret weird...
-
What Does "Filled with the Holy Spirit" Mean?
In this episode we show what the Bible does and doesn't mean when it talks about a special movement of the Holy Spirit on individuals or groups. You may have heard Christians talking or singing about the Holy Spirit coming or filling a place. Well here I explain how to know what that means and…
more -
What to Do with Boring Stories
Some Christians feel like they don't have much of a testimony. Maybe it's "boring" or "too simple" or they've just "always believed." Well I'm here to tell you that these kinds of stories aren't boring at all--in some ways, they might be the most important stories we've got. Listen here to find…
more -
Is This as Good as It Gets?
The Bible just sort of assumes that bad things happen to good people and doesn't seem terribly bothered by that fact--it certainly doesn't hamper anyone's faith in God! But in in today's world atheists and agnostics use the fact of "unnecessary evil" or suffering as a major reason to disbelieve…
more -
Don't Skip Over the Weird Stuff
In this episode, I explain why we used the translation we did of Psalm 139 and explain the logic of the Psalm. In doing so, we see how important it is to take note of the weird stuff in the Bible. It's easy to gloss over things that don't fit our idea of who God is or what God is like, and doing…
more -
Remembering in Exile
This week's podcast ties up our Exiled series with a reflection on the role of remembering as people in Exile and how we can rekindle the joy of our greatest spiritual experiences in the here and now. Plus, a little bit of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation to help make sense of it all.
-
3 Rules for Reading the Bible
There are a lot of good interpretations of the Bible, but not every interpretation is good. A lot are out of bounds. But how? In this episode we go through three critical rules for interpretation: (1) Words can mean a lot but not anything, (2) The Bible tells a coherent story about God, the...
-
Reading the Bible Part 4: Endless Meaning
Here's a question I get asked about different biblical passages: "What does this mean, this or that?" The assumption is that each text from the Bible has a correct interpretation and a whole bunch of incorrect ones. In this episode I demonstrate how the Bible might have multiple--even endless…
more -
Why and How to Ask God to Hurt Others
This might seem weird, but sometimes asking God to destroy someone or some group is a *good* thing. In fact, Jesus, Peter, and Paul all do it! The key is to understand why. Listen to this episode to get a quick course on what to do and what not to do and why.
-
Is the Bible Funny? Should I Laugh?
In this episode we begin to understand humor in the Bible. Because there's actually a lot of it, we just don't usually get it because we have such a different culture. But the humor is there. And if you start to get it, you might find yourself laughing!
-
Reading the Bible Part 3: Comfort and Conviction
How do you know if you've interpreted the Bible rightly or well? Good question. We look at point #1 today, by way of 2 Timothy, Hebrews, and St. Augustine. The answer might surprise you because it has nothing to do with how good you are at reading!
-
Why Your Difference has to be Hard
On Sunday we talked about drawing lines that make us visibly different from the culture. One of the things we talked about but couldn't spend a lot of time on was the importance of choosing lines that are hard, unappealing, maybe even impossible for us. But why? Well, I think it comes straight…
more -
Reading the Bible Part 2: God is Love
Last week we talked about reading the Bible as if God is the main character of all the stories, poems, letters, histories, etc. in order to grasp his nature and character. Well what do we do when reading that way makes God look like a bloodthirsty tyrant? Are we wrong? How do we know? In this...
-
Reading the Bible Better, Part 1
A lot of people ask me how to read the Bible. So I'm doing a quick and dirty series of tips for being better at engaging Scripture in a meaningful and practical way. This week? Remember it's God's story, not anybody else's. Only fifteen minutes to get way better at reading the Bible well!
-
"Will I have red hair in heaven?" and other questions about glory
We talked a bit about transformation and God's plans for our glory on Sunday. Here we expand the analogy of the fixer upper home with some input from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 to get a better grasp of what we can expect in the here and now and in the next life.
-
You Can('t) Lose in Heaven
Here's a question: What are the implications of "You can't lose" for heaven? I mean, sure, Jesus can turn our losses into wins, but is there any reason to strive for that? Turns out, yes, and I'll prove it!
-
AI Lies, Cheats, and Steals
Since we got such a big response to the AI podcast a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd do another. There are a lot of questions about using AI, the ethics of it, and how it can help or hurt, and I'm answering them! Today we talk about the fact that AI lies, cheats, and steals BUT ONLY IF YOU…
more -
How Complacency is Just as Bad as Murder
In this week's episode, we look at CS Lewis, Revelation 3, and Colossians 3 to see how there is a way in which spiritual complacency is just as deadly to the goal of Life as murder. If that seems like a wacky claim, listen! And if you like it, share!
-
Why Does the Devil Get Power Over Us?
We saw on Sunday that God gives Satan the right to accuse us and test us with harrowing circumstances. He did it to Job. He did it to the disciples. Why would God let that happen? Doesn't this show the Bible to be silly and God to be unfair? Well, no. Listen to find out why!
-
Sermon Challenge 2March26
5 minute sermon recap and weekly challenge
-
Our Sermon Writing Process and AI
Plagiarized sermons? Sermon-writing laziness? How does the sausage get made? Over the years that I've been writing sermons with my friend Pastor Mike Lotzer of Mercy Road Church in Lakeville, MN, many people have wondered what that looks like and just what we do. Well, in this episode Mike joins…
more -
Why Doesn't God Give Us Good Things?
One question we didn't address on Sunday is "Why doesn't God give us some things that would be good for us?" That is, there's plenty of things that would probably make us better people and Christians, things that are good for us, that God doesn't allow. A great example is trouble with...
-
How Satan Works and What to Do about It
"Not today, Satan!" is a popular meme these days. I think it's meant to mean that the enemy is out there trying to destroy us--which is true. But how, exactly, does he operate and what can we do about it? I survey a bunch of places in the Bible that show us what he's doing and how to live in...
-
Partial Preterism
Trying to understand the Bible when it talks about the end times is hard. Is there an idea or interpretive lens that can help? There sure is! It's called "partial preterism," and it's how I am able to make sense of some pretty confusing texts. Open up Mark 13 with me and check it out.
-
No Samaritans Need Apply
There is an odd bit in Luke 9 we skipped on Sunday in which the Samaritans don't welcome Jesus into their territory as he travels to Jerusalem. Why? What gives? And what if their reaction is a massive warning to us about missing out on the life God designed for us?
-
Don't Look Back
When warning us about the cost of following him, Jesus quotes an old farmer's saying, "Don't put one hand on the plow and look back." What does this mean and what is he trying to warn us about? The answer(s) may surprise you!
-
Why No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
The title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but this week's episode, "Why No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" explains how and why some suffering is built into the created order and why it is good. Knowing this hidden mechanic in the universe can give us encouragement, courage, and strength in some very...
-
Is Judas in Hell?
Is Judas in hell? What about corrupt religious leaders? Does the Bible answer these questions with clarity? I argue that it sort of doesn't, because the Bible isn't all that interested in hell. Which seems weird since Christianity has a reputation for being all about heaven and hell. What gives?...
-
You Gotta Die to Rise
No pain, no gain! Pain is just weakness leaving the body! These are just a few ways that people describe the process of growth. There's something about nature that demands pain, suffering, and death for new life to come about. And, of course, that's at the center of the Christian story about God....
-
Why are the Magi in the Christmas Story?
One of the fun things about the Christmas story is how odd it all is. Of all the things to tell about the birth of the supposed true King of the world and the fullness of God in human flesh, the events of the Christmas story with miraculous conceptions, shepherds, and a mad king trying to kill a...
-
Why Doesn't God Make Himself Obvious?
If God exists, isn't it weird that he doesn't just act in a way that's obvious so that everyone will believe? Good question. Isn't it also weird that Zechariah literally had an angel tell him what was going to happen and he *still* didn't believe it? What's going on? Why do people have a hard…
more -
Did Luke Lie about Jesus' Birth?
Skeptics largely do away with the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. They're too fanciful or they aren't told by anyone who was there, etc., etc. Today we look at a little tidbit from Luke 2 that strongly indicates the opposite. It makes us think that no, Luke isn't lying.…
more -
Am I on the Right Path?
A lot of times we're not sure if we're doing what God wants or if we're a part of what God is up to. Once Mary knew that she was, she sang a song of praise that gives us some solid signs, helping us to discern where we're at. Bottom line? God likes to shake things up. Listen to find out more!
-
Does God Talk to Me?
On Sunday, we saw that part of doing things the Kingdom Way requires God to intervene with grace. In Joseph's case, that was an angel in a dream. But most of us don't get anything like that, or at least not very often. So how does God talk to us? What is his will? How do we find out? We cover all...
-
The Future and Why It Matters
Christians have lots of disagreements about "eschatology," or what is going to happen in the future, what heaven and hell are like, etc. Who's right and why does it matter? We deal with those issues in this episode.
-
Get Ready to Get Help
What happens when you start catching fish (bringing people into the Kingdom of God)? Chaos, disaster, and challenge, that's what. It's awe-inspiring and beautiful, but man it's wild. Peter found that out when Jesus told him to go fishing. Today, we look at what to expect here at Coast Bible…
more -
What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel?
The "prosperity gospel" is the belief that you can get what you want materially by doing and giving (especially for and to God). Want that private jet? Work hard and give to gospel mission and you'll get it! Well, Jesus doesn't say that. But it is enticing because it is a half-truth. In this...
-
What are Spiritual Gifts and What Do I Do with Them?
On Sunday we talked about the importance of finding someone who has what we want and learning from them. What we didn't explore is the extent to which our various characteristics and proclivities count as "spiritual gifts" and what we should do with them. Well, we address that here and we get to…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
I'm the lead pastor of Coast Bible Church in Orange County, CA. In this weekly podcast I talk about the stuff that I think is interesting or theologically pregnant or super complicated but didn’t quite make the weekly sermon. Check us out at coastbible.org!
HOSTED BY
Tom
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Save My Darlings have?
Save My Darlings currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Save My Darlings about?
I'm the lead pastor of Coast Bible Church in Orange County, CA. In this weekly podcast I talk about the stuff that I think is interesting or theologically pregnant or super complicated but didn’t quite make the weekly sermon. Check us out at coastbible.org!
How often does Save My Darlings release new episodes?
Save My Darlings has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Save My Darlings?
You can listen to Save My Darlings on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Save My Darlings?
Save My Darlings is created and hosted by Tom.
URL copied to clipboard!