The Jacob's Ladder Podcast
by Professor Carl Vanderpool and Jacob Stone
Join us as Jacob seeks discipleship with his friend Professor Carl. One honest conversation at a time, they seek to understand who God is and what it really means to follow Him. If you're wrestling with faith, then this podcast is for you.
Episodes
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#41 - Demonology: Satan and Fallen Angels
What is the history of demonology and what does the Bible say about demons? What are demons? Are they fallen angels, or the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim? And what even are the Nephilim — giants, warriors, or the offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men? Are the Sons of God...
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#40 - Genesis: The First Murder
Why did God reject Cains sacrifice? God told Cain he would be accepted if he did what was right, so why not try again? Why did God say sin was crouching at Cains door, but it must be subdued? Does that mean God made us strong enough to subdue our sin? What was it about Abel's sacrifice that God...
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#39 - Genesis: Did God Really Say?
Who is this talking serpent and why does this seem totally normal for Adam & Eve? Is the serpent’s temptation for Adam and Eve to eat the fruit sanctioned by God? If it was, why was the serpent cursed to crawl on his belly? If it wasn’t crawling before, did it have arms and legs like a dragon?…
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#38 - Genesis: Made in the Image of God
What does “Let us make man in our image” mean and who is “us” ? Is it the Trinity or God & the angels in heaven? What is Gods image exactly? Is it how he looks, his personal characteristics, or his role and responsibility? If God is neither male or female, why would His “image” bearers be “male…
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#37 - Faith in Action: Invited to a Same Sex Wedding
Welcome to our first Faith in Action episode. This is an intermittent sermon series about what a Christian should do when our faith collides with modern culture. All Christians have non-believers they care about, and we want to navigate those relationships in a way that honors God. Our first...
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#36 - Genesis: 6 Days of Creation?
Is Genesis literal or poetic? If it is poetic... what else in Scripture is poetic? If the creation account is just metaphor, then what about the resurrection? If the resurrection isn’t literal do we even have a faith left? Science tells one story about the universe like stars forming first, then...
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#35 – Genesis: God Created
Who wrote Genesis? How was that story preserved for millennia before it was written down? Why should we trust Genesis over other accounts from other civilizations? Why do flood stories appear around the world but with different details? How do we interpret the age of the earth with the new James...
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#34 - Confession 101
Why does James tell Christians to “confess your sins to one another”? Why can’t I just confess my sins to God? Who should I confess to? My pastor? Everyone in my Church? Or only my closest Christian friends? What’s the difference between confessing sin, confessing hurt, or confessing that I...
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#33 - Communion 101
Why do Catholics believe that communion is the literal body of Christ while the Protestants believe its symbolic? Does it really matter for my sanctification what position I take on this? Am I missing the most important point of communion? How did Jesus do communion at the Last Supper? How did…
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#32 - Women in Ministry
Did Paul really ban women from teaching in church? What does Paul mean when he says women are “saved through childbearing” and he doesn’t permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man? Why does Paul contradict this by affirming a woman in ministry as a deacon in Romans? If women can’t…
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#31 - Baptism 101
Did baptism start with John the Baptist? If it did, then why did everyone understand his command to get baptized and repent of sin? What about the water purification rituals in the Old Testament? Could this idea of baptism be older than Abraham? What if I was already baptized as a baby? Should I…
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#30 - Evangelizing 101
God commanded us all to go and make disciples of the nations…how do I do that if I’m just a regular guy? What does evangelism look like for someone who isn’t a pastor? Should I be talking about my testimony and witnessing to everyone all the time? What if say the wrong thing and I push people...
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#29 - Church 101
What is “church” really and why does God insist I can’t be spiritually healthy without it? Is it better to be fully known in a small church or to have some privacy in a large church? What do I do when I get hurt in church and I want to stop showing up? Should I be a part of a non-Christian...
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#28 - Reading Your Bible 101
How did “The Bible” as we know it get formed? How did the early church grow so big without it? If most believers throughout history couldn’t read, how was faith passed down? How did the printing press revolutionize the spread of faith? How often should a Christian read their bible? Should we do...
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#27 - Fasting 101
DISCLAIMER: This episode discusses fasting as a spiritual discipline. We are not medical professionals, and nothing in this episode should be taken as medical advice. If you are considering fasting — especially if you have health conditions or recent medical procedures — please consult a…
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#26 - Distant Judge or Loving Father?
Join us in the FINAL and 13th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What if your understanding of God the Father is wrong? Have Christians unintentionally reduced the Trinity to “Father God” plus “Jesus” and “The Holy Spirit”? Is the Father really a distant judge, or have we missed who He…
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#25 - Our Father Who Art In Heaven
Join us in the 12th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What is God’s name? Should I pray to Jesus, The Holy Spirit, or The Father? Why does Jesus teach us to pray to Father God? Does God really care which member of the Trinity I pray to? Do the others feel left out? Can I really approach...
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#24 - Why does God allow suffering?
Why does God allow suffering? Why do innocent people suffer? If God is all powerful and can stop it, why doesn’t He? Why does God allow Satan to test Job and then never tell Job why? Why does God allow Joseph to suffer for so many years? How can we be sure that some suffering has redemptive...
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#23 - Lost Gospels or False Gospels?
Join us in the 11th installment of the "Who is God?" series. Were lost gospels hidden from us? Do they contain secret knowledge, or do they distort the truth about Jesus? Why did the early church decide to leave them out? How did the church decide what was reliable? What about other faiths that...
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#22 - Salvation for Aliens & Angels?
Join us in the 10th installment of the "Who is God?" series. Do aliens need salvation? Would God need to die as each alien species to offer salvation? Some angels commit sin... why aren’t they offered salvation? Why do the animals still die when they don’t need salvation? Why did Jesus glorified...
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#21 - Jesus is Fully God
Join us in the 9th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What made Jesus fully God? Was it his detailed knowledge of the future? Was it his power over nature? Was it his miraculous healing? Was it his authority over demons? What do you mean He gave His disciples authority to do all these…
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#20 - Jesus is Fully Human
Join us in the 8th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What separates Jesus from every other “god-man” story we’ve heard—from Hercules to Superman? How can He be both fully God and fully human, and why does that matter for our salvation? What does it mean that Jesus was tempted like we are,...
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#19 - Jesus in the Old Testament?
Join us in the 7th installment of the "Who is God?" series. Who is the man Abraham bargains with to save Sodom and Gomorrah? Who is the man Jacob wrestles with? Who is the Commander of the Lords armies that Joshua speaks with? Who is the man that Gideon speaks with under the tree? Is this God...
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#18 - Fruits of The Holy Spirit
Join us in the 6th installment of the "Who is God?" series. How can you hear God's voice? Is it through conviction and conscience? Does the Holy Spirit guide us through a sense of peace? What are the fruits of The Holy Spirit? Will we exhibit those fruits as part of our daily walk with God? If…
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#17 - Gifts of The Holy Spirit
Join us in our 5th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What are the gifts of The Holy Spirit? They sound like superpowers — but what do they actually do? Are they rare, reserved for a few, or available to any believer? Is someone lucky to receive just one, or does the Lord use multiple gifts...
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#16 - Losing Charlie
In this conversation, we reflect on what it means to lose Charlie Kirk. Because his life was committed to both faith and politics how should we handle the tension and blurred lines between both? Was Charlie a Christian martyr? What does revival look like in a moment like this? Why do some mourn,...
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#15 - Reversing Babel: The Gift of Tongues
Join us in the 4th installment of the "Who is God?" series. What exactly is the gift of tongues? Is the day of Pentecost a spectacle of the Holy Spirits power? Or a sacred reversal when He descends and undoes Babel’s confusion by declaring the Gospel for all to understand? Are tongues only for...
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#14 - Holy Spirit 101
Join us in the 3rd installment of the "Who is God?" series. Where was the Holy Spirit from Genesis to Pentecost? We know he seals us for salvation and indwells inside the believer today but what about everyone in the old testament? Did He just simply empower and come upon them with power? Why…
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#13 - Trinity 101
Join us in the 2nd installment of the "Who is God?" series. What does it mean to say that God is one being in three persons? We wrestle with modalism, toy with the idea of a duality between Father and Son and ultimately confront the undeniable presence of the Holy Spirit in scripture. This…
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#12 - Who is God?
Join us in the 1st installment of the "Who is God?" series. What does it mean to say that God is truly good and infinitely powerful? Since we are made in His image, what characteristics of His does he share with humanity? What characteristics does he NOT share with us? What does it mean that God…
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#11 - God Revealed: Modern Day
Part 3 of 3 from the “God Revealed” series. It’s been 2000 years since the biblical canon closed. Is God revealing Himself today or did it end with Jesus? Do I just read my bible and patiently wait until His 2nd coming? How does Jesus’s last instructions to the disciples affect me today? Should I...
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#10 - God Revealed: New Testament
Part 2 of 3 from the “God Revealed” series. God’s revelation didn’t stop with the Old Testament. 500 years after the last Old Testament book was written we see God Himself enter creation as a man named Jesus Christ. He was born as the son of a carpenter named Joseph. Why wasn’t he born in a…
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#9 - God Revealed: Old Testament
Part 1 of 3 from the “God Revealed” series. How does God reveal Himself in the Old Testament? He walks with Adam in the Garden. He shows up to Abraham as a Man with two angels outside Sodom and Gomorrah… or is it all members of the Trinity? He shows up to Moses as the Angel of the Lord in the...
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#8 - Prayer 101
What is prayer? How do I pray? How many times should I pray? Should I pray in "Jesus's name"? If God knows all my thoughts and all my needs why do I need to pray? Why does it feel like I'm praying and God isn't listening? Is it a problem with me? Am I doing something wrong when I don't feel like…
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#7 - How do I have a relationship with God?
How do I have a relationship with God who feels like a distant Father or a pen pal? I want a close relationship with Him that has constant back and forth communication but I don't feel like I'm getting it. Is the problem with me? Am I not living obediently enough for Him to talk to me? Am I not...
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#6 - Why does God love me?
Why does God love me out of the billions of people who have ever lived? Why does God love every individual person and not just humanity as a whole group? What does it mean to be made in His image? If you ever wrestled with the idea that God loves you, then this episode is for you. If you enjoy…
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#5 - What does it mean to be Christian?
What went wrong in the Garden of Eden? Did Adam choose Eve over God? Is being a Christian about going to church and obeying rules? Is sin about breaking rules or breaking my relationship with God? What does it really mean to make Jesus my Lord and Savior? Will this reconcile my relationship with...
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#4 - Why Create People Destined for Hell?
Why would a good and loving God create people He knows will reject Him and send them to hell? What is hell? Is it punishment from God or a separation from God? What does it really mean to refuse a relationship with God? If God can do anything, why didn’t he create the perfect circumstances where...
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#3 - Unrepentant Sin
What were the differences in sin between Saul and David? Judas and Peter? and David and Solomon? What is unrepentant sin? Can believers lose their salvation because of it? How does God deal with sin in our lives? How does it affect our relationship with God? If you ever wrestled with unrepentant...
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#2 - A Distant God?
How do I have a personal relationship with God? I’m doing my best to follow His commands and live in a way that honors Him—but lately, He feels distant. I’ve been walking through a challenging season, dealing with complications from eye surgery, and the struggle has left me feeling isolated and...
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#1 - Removing Demonic Strongholds
In the premiere episode of The Jacob’s Ladder Podcast, we jump straight into questions about spiritual warfare and the battle between Heaven and Hell. What does that fight look like in both the seen and unseen world? What if the unseen world knew exactly which team you played for? What if a...
About this show
Join us as Jacob seeks discipleship with his friend Professor Carl. One honest conversation at a time, they seek to understand who God is and what it really means to follow Him. If you're wrestling with faith, then this podcast is for you.
Hosted by
Professor Carl Vanderpool and Jacob Stone
Categories