PODCAST · history
The Blue Collar Scholar
by Will Reitz
This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.
Episodes
-
New Testament, episode 10: Hebrews, 1st & 2nd Peter, and Jude
This episode continues in our journey through the New Testament into the "Catholic Epistles." (Note: Catholic in this context means "universal.") These books also go by the name "General Epistles," as these non-Pauline books were typically distributed widely, instead of going to an individual or…
more -
Sermon: A Journey with Jonah (The Book of Jonah)
Inspired by my recent sermons that covered the entire books of 2nd John & 3rd John, I thought I'd try my hand at covering a whole book that is a little bit bigger. So this sermon flows more like a Bible study, analyzing the text of the Book of Jonah in order. Sometimes an individual verse is...
-
History in My Lifetime, episode 8: Natural Disasters
This episode briefly discusses some of the biggest and most disastrous earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes (typhoons/cyclones), floods, tornadoes, and wildfires of the last 80 years.
-
New Testament, episode 9 - The Final Letters of Paul: The Prison Epistles and the Pastoral Epistles
As the Book of Acts draws to a close, the Apostle Paul is under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar. It is during this time that he writes "the Prison Epistles," which are Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, & Philippians. (Some scholars like N.T. Wright advance the idea that these books were...
-
New Testament, episode 8: Luke & Acts
The New Testament class is arranged so that we examine each book of the New Testament more-or-less in the order that they were written. Having looked at James, the early epistles or Paul, Mark, & Matthew, we are ready to look at Luke & Acts. Chronologically, it is likely that these books were...
-
Sermon: Forgiveness
Jesus makes it clear Matthew 18:21-35 that we all need to forgive others. But we are not naturally forgiving people. Furthermore, forgiveness - by definition - only goes to those who don't deserve it. But there are 6 reasons to forgive: (1) Forgiveness frees you from burden. (2) Your bitterness...
-
History in My Lifetime, episode 7: Major Geopolitical Shifts
For our *** 400th EPISODE *** we have the next installment of our "History in My Lifetime" class lectures. In this episode we briefly go over the major geopolitical shifts that have occurred since the close of World War II.
-
Sermon: How To Be the Body of Christ (3rd John)
The Summer 2026 Sermon Series officially comes to an end with this sermon. The First John series became a 1st through 3rd John series because 2nd & 3rd John are so short, and it felt right to cover them, too, so as to be thorough. From the tiny letter of Third John, we learn that to be the Body…
more -
New Testament, episode 7: Mark & Matthew
Each of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ tell a slightly different story. Each tells a coherent narrative that is compatible with the other Gospels, but each author has chosen certain events and details while leaving out others. The "Synoptic Gospels" (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) share a very...
-
Sermon: Love vs. Lies (2nd John)
Second John is the shortest book in the Bible. This sermon breaks down the entire book into the following points: (1) God is the Source of grace, mercy, peace, truth, & love. (2) We should love our brothers & sisters, and rejoice in their success. (3) We exhibit love by obeying God's commands.…
more -
History in My Lifetime, episode 6 - Generations: Boomers, Gen X, & Millennials
History in My Lifetime is a discussion class. It has become clear to me that much of what drives our discussion is driven by the decades in which we grew up. A person who was a teenager in the early '60s is going to be a very different person from someone who was a teenager in the late '90s. So…
more -
New Testament, episode 6: Romans
Romans is, perhaps, the most important book in the Bible, and the greatest piece of theology writing ever. In this episode we dig into the soteriology (the study of salvation) in Romans. That makes this the most sermon-like of my academic lectures.
-
History in My Lifetime, episode 5: SPACE!
There have been several major historical events regarding human exploration of space in living memory. In fact, just about the entire history of humanity in space has happened in lifetimes of people still alive today. In this episode we reminisce about the triumphant events and the tragedies...
-
Sermon: Closing Thoughts from First John (1 John 5:13-21)
Our summer sermon series has been going on since the end of May. We have been going through the book of First John, listening to the Apostle John's message to the followers of Jesus Christ in his day. Those messages still very much apply to Jesus' followers today, especially John constant refrain...
-
New Testament, episode 5: The Earliest Epistles
The New Testament series continues as we begin to examine the texts themselves. The format of this class is to read the texts in the order that they were most likely written. Therefore, before we get to the Gospels, we will look at James, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and 1 & 2 Corinthians.
-
History in My Lifetime, episode 4: Terrorist Attacks
For most of us, 9/11 is the biggest single-day historical event we have ever witnessed. So much changed after that terrible day. But 9/11 was hardly the only act of terrorism that has happened in our time. In this episode we survey the major terrorist attacks from Munich to October 7th.
-
New Testament, episode 4: The Biography of Jesus of Nazareth
The episode 5 lecture in the New Testament class will examine the actual text of the New Testament. Before we do that, let us back up and see an overview of the life of the New Testament's central figure: Jesus of Nazareth. This episode examines Jesus as a religious figure, but also as an actual...
-
Sermon: Assurance of Salvation (1 John 5:6-13)
All of First John comes to a head in chapter 5, verse 13, when the Apostle tells us that he wrote all of the book so that we can KNOW that we have eternal life. It was not God's intention for us to be on pins & needles, never quite sure whether we've done enough to earn His favor. Rather, once we...
-
Sermon: How To Handle Strange & Difficult Bible Verses (1 John 5:7-8 & 16-17)
The 5th chapter of John has a couple of passages that are a challenge for Bible translators. In one passage, the Greek text seems clear, but a short clause seems to have been added by a Medieval commentator (the "Johannine Comma" of 1 John 5:7-8) and translators have to decide whether to keep in…
more -
History in My Lifetime, episode 3 - American Wars: Vietnam to Iran
This episode is designed to jog your memory and trigger discussions regarding all of the American wars of the last 70 years. Special emphasis is given to the Vietnam War. It was such a drawn-out, bloody, and exhausting conflict. It was sold as part of a great struggle of the democratic West…
more -
New Testament, episode 3 - Context of the New Testament: Alexander the Great, the Apocrypha, & Rome
The final lecture on the context of the New Testament starts with a review of the major Near East empires leading up to Alexander the Great. We then look at Alexander's conquests to understand how Greek culture & the Greek language became so ubiquitous during the times of the New Testament. We…
more -
New Testament, episode 2 - Context of the New Testament: The Old Testament
In the introductory episode of this series, we discussed the context of the New Testament within the history of recorded history and written language. In this episode we keep building upon our understanding of the context of the New Testament by taking a long look at the Old Testament. The Old...
-
New Testament, episode 1: Introduction
What is the New Testament? It is a deeply Jewish book that serves as a sequel -- of sorts -- to the Old Testament. It is a small library of 27 books. It is a biography (or, rather, 4 biographies) of the greatest Man who ever lived, as well as a sequel (Acts) and 22 books that add to Jesus'…
more -
Sermon: How to Love God (1 John 5:1-5)
The First John series enters the final chapter of the epistle. In this passage, we learn how to love God: (1) love believers, (2) obey God's commands, & (3) have faith in Christ.
-
History in My Lifetime, episode 2: Major Milestones of the Civil Rights Movement
This episode gives a brief overview of the Civil Rights Movement in the US since Brown v. Board of Education. We also take a look at the women's rights movement, as well as movements for the rights of immigrants, disabled persons, and the LGBTQ+ community. This episode ends with over 2 weeks of...
-
Sermon: Perfect Love (1 John 4:16-21)
"Perfect love casts out fear." - 1st John 4:18 ... In this sermon I break down the idea of such perfect love. In 1st John 4:16-21, see see that if God abides in you, then He will perfect (verb) love within you. We also see the following benefits of such perfect love: (1) perfect love will give…
more -
History in My Lifetime, episode 1: Assassinations & Attempted Assassinations
In this, the Fall 2026 semester, we will be trying something new: a class called "History in My Lifetime: Documenting My Place in History to Tell My Grandchildren." Each week we will discuss a different category of major historical events in the last 80 years or so, with emphasis being on the…
more -
Sermon: If God Abides in You ... (1 John 4:7-16)
If you have been reading along with us through the book of First John, you have probably noticed that the Apostle John has told us about a dozen times to love each other. It is an important theme for this epistle. In 1st John 4:7-16, we are told once again to love each other and to love God, for...
-
Sermon: Spiritual Warfare (1 John 4:1-6)
Spiritual warfare is an interesting biblical topic. We see glimpses of spiritual warfare in books like Daniel & Revelation, and it is obvious that there is some kind of conflict between angels and demons, between the spiritual forces of God vs. the spiritual forces of darkness. But the Bible does...
-
Sermon: Relationship with God (1 John 3:19-24)
"It's not about 'religion,' it's a relationship" is an overused Christian trope. In all honesty, I remember this phrase mostly from my youth in the 1990s, when it seemed like this was everyone's Christian mantra. But Christianity is a religion. It addresses religion themes and the truth taught by...
-
Sermon: Love One Another (1 John 3:10-18)
Litmus tests tell you the pH level of a chemical, and that helps you identify the chemical. The term "litmus test" can be used metaphorically to describe something that is definitely not litmus paper but can similarly help you determine something. In last week's sermon, we learned that sin -...
-
Sermon: Do Not Choose Sin (1 John 3:4-10)
The freedom to choose is a key aspect of what it means to be an American. This is true of human beings in general, but the citizens of my nation especially value individual liberty to choose this-or-that. These choices are both simple (like what to eat or what to wear) to very complex (like how…
more -
Sermon: Children of God (1 John 2:28-3:3)
When a person is redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the believer is adopted into the family as Children of God. This week's sermon covers the last few verses of First John chapter 2 and the first few verses of chapter 3. In this passage we learn that (1) Children of God look forward to...
-
Sermon: The Apostle John's Warning Against "Antichrists" (1 John 2:18-27)
Happy 4th of July! The premier liberal democracy to arise out of the Enlightenment is now a quarter a millennium old. But this sermon is not a patriotic holiday sermon. Instead, we continue in our sermon series through the epistle of First John. In 1 John 2:18-27, John warns us against those who...
-
Sermon: Using Your Spiritual Gifts
Today I was honored to be invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Parsons (KS). This is the audio of that sermon, where I lay out reasons why some Christians think that they don't have any spiritual gifts, and why they are wrong about that.
-
Sermon: Do Not Love the World (1 John 2:15-17)
The Apostle John tells us to not love the world or the things of the world (see 1 John 2:15). But in John 3:16, we see that God so loved the world. Is this a contradiction? And if not, then we must ask: what does it mean for one to not love the world? In this episode, we see that (1) you either...
-
Sermon - Father's Day: Righteousness, Love, & Maturity (1 John 2:1-14)
Happy Father's Day! As we continue in our expository series through the book of First John, we come to the beginning verses of chapter 2. In this passage we learn a few things: (1) Our goal should be sinlessness, (2) Jesus fixes it (because we will never achieve sinlessness) and He defends us…
more -
Juneteenth
Joyous Juneteenth to fans of liberty & justice for all! I opened worship this weekend with a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. As a history dude (with an actual Bachelor's degree in the subject), I am ashamed to say that I was unaware of Juneteenth until the late 2010s. But I've come to view it...
-
Sermon: Walk in the Light, as He Is in the Light (1 John 1:5-10)
There is a tug-of-war between the extremes of hedonism & legalism, with neither side being the righteous choice. Instead, the Apostle John teaches us to "walk in the light, as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7), emulating Jesus rather than chasing an extreme. In today's sermon, we see that the...
-
Sermon: The Word Is Alive (1 John 1:1-4)
The Summer 2026 sermon series kicks off (well, besides the introductory sermon last week) where any expository series should start: chapter 1, verse 1. The book of 1st John opens with a poetic, slightly rambling soliloquy about the "Logos," the Greek word for "word" (which is also the key word at...
-
Sermon: Introduction to First John
This summer's sermon series is an expository preaching series through the Epistle of First John. This is the introduction, which lays out several overall themes of the book. Join us this summer as we dig into First John.
-
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 8: In Conclusion
Memorial Day seems like a nice bookend for this Easter sermon series; beginning and ending on a holiday. In this episode we summarize all that we've discussed the past 2 months regarding the topic of joy.
-
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 7: The Joy of New Beginnings
Congratulations to all our graduates! Life is going to get a lot more rewarding and more difficult. New beginnings fill us with fear because of the fear of the unknown. But there is joy in new beginnings as well, because there is opportunity there. And this is not just a message for young people....
-
WWII, episode 16: The Cold War
For the second time, The Blue Collar Scholar completes a course on the Second World War. The first attempt was choppy, and I failed to record every episode. This go round, I feel much more confident that this series is a good, surface-level-yet-deep-dive into the bloodiest conflict in human...
-
Comparing World Religions, episode 16: Conclusion
This Spring, we've been going over the religions of the world. This Comparing World Religions class comes to a conclusion with this short lecture. In this episode, I make some concluding remarks, including going over what we should have learned from this class, but also what I hope that we have…
more -
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 6: Thankfulness
Happy Mother's Day! All of people, our mothers are the people in our lives that deserve the most gratitude. But this sermon is not just about the gratitude we should have for the mothers in our lives. Each of us should cultivate and attitude of gratitude that permeates all aspects of our lives…
more -
WWII, episode 15: My Grandfather's Brief WWII Experience
My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in the US Army in April 1945, so fighting in Europe was never in the cards for Sgt. Reitz. Instead, he trained for the invasion of Japan. His...
-
Comparing World Religions, episode 15: Atheism
Atheists claim that atheism is not a religion. Rather, it is a lack of religion. I see no reason to not allow atheists to define their religious beliefs thusly. However, since atheism answers all the same questions that religions answers, it would be a gaping hole in this sermon series if atheism...
-
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 5: How the "Lordship of Emotion" Can Destroy Your Faith
Happiness is a good thing. If something makes you happy, then that is probably evidence that that thing is good. However, if the need to be happy (or, if the need to avoid unhappiness) is the driving force in all your decision-making, then the emotion of happiness is the Lord of your life. It…
more -
WWII, episode 14: Aftermath
The Second World War changed human history is ways that are hardly even measurable. It changed everything. In this episode, we will look at the Nuremburg Trials and the Japanese War Crimes Trials, economic and political shifts, the move toward international cooperation and justice, the rise of 2...
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
This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.
HOSTED BY
Will Reitz
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Blue Collar Scholar have?
The Blue Collar Scholar currently has 405 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Blue Collar Scholar about?
This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.
How often does The Blue Collar Scholar release new episodes?
The Blue Collar Scholar publishes regularly with 405 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Blue Collar Scholar?
You can listen to The Blue Collar Scholar 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 The Blue Collar Scholar?
The Blue Collar Scholar is created and hosted by Will Reitz.
URL copied to clipboard!