“But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

In 2 Corinthians, we’re getting another look at the relationship between the apostle Paul and people he is continuing to pastor from afar in Corinth. This letter takes us deep into themes of endurance and suffering, what true godly ministry is like, and a heartfelt look at the relationship between God and his people. Paul talks of his hardships, of false prophets, of giving, of repentance, and so much more. To help us navigate the book of 2 Corinthians is Dr. George Guthrie, Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College and author of a commentary on 2 Corinthians.

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 450 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Resources Related to This Episode: https://www.amazon.com/Corinthians-Baker-Exegetical-Commentary-Testament/dp/0801026733

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Navigating the Bible: 1 Corinthians - https://youtu.be/5lt9OhkpYbg
Navigating the Bible: Romans - https://youtu.be/hQXntME3Goc
Navigating the Bible: Acts - https://youtu.be/u7ujU81hvjU
Navigating the Bible: John - https://youtu.be/0Q8CqUMoTdE
Navigating the Bible: Luke - https://youtu.be/TKp9FbT3J2k
Navigating the Bible: Mark - https://youtu.be/TfD2cHzAFmc
Navigating the Bible: Matthew - https://youtu.be/TopzGlIuhYg
Navigating the Bible: Malachi - https://youtu.be/Qiwoys1KAa8
Navigating the Bible: Zechariah - https://youtu.be/t3beJht6tZU
Navigating the Bible: Haggai - https://youtu.be/pGFOmTPUgI4
Navigating the Bible: Zephaniah - https://youtu.be/VtKeFsLeG4M
Navigating the Bible: Habakkuk - https://youtu.be/89l0HUQceIw
Navigating the Bible: Nahum - https://youtu.be/USg64a6Kk8w
Navigating the Bible: Micah - https://youtu.be/Tcm3HykhkS8
Navigating the Bible: Jonah - https://youtu.be/PxhIyhLSgJQ
Navigating the Bible: Obadiah - https://youtu.be/jB6W-TM5Y-o
Navigating the Bible: Amos - https://youtu.be/8DqVHu7leDU
Navigating the Bible: Joel - https://youtu.be/Ilg6r300q4U
Navigating the Bible: Hosea - https://youtu.be/nWZ4TuAUSRQ
Navigating the Bible: Daniel - https://youtu.be/bnQ-PioWxfg
Navigating the Bible: Ezekiel - https://youtu.be/hlg6gBYxqsg
Navigating the Bible: Lamentations - https://youtu.be/6rrizlXeYXE
Navigating the Bible: Jeremiah - https://youtu.be/lXPjWl8PdRk
Navigating the Bible: Isaiah - https://youtu.be/NZJLaPkgEgs
Navigating the Bible: Song of Songs - https://youtu.be/Sg0CYlNBVMg
Navigating the Bible: Ecclesiastes - https://youtu.be/-Wr7LCh8F9E
Navigating the Bible: Proverbs - https://youtu.be/DytRT5AsZg8
Navigating the Bible: Psalms - https://youtu.be/oZeesooAYUI
Navigating the Bible: Job - https://youtu.be/14jaf2T1eCQ
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/NB9UTpS1F3M
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is perhaps best known as having the “love” chapter that I just read from. But it’s a testament to the weight of this book that in our conversation today, we barely even touch on that chapter. In this letter, Paul is responding to things he has heard were going on at the church he started in Corinth. Think of a pastor who planted a church, had to go away for awhile, but starts hearing about a bunch of issues happening back at his church plant and has to respond to them. Our guest today likes to say that while 1 Corinthians isn’t considered one of Paul’s “pastoral letters,” it may actually be his most pastoral as we see him handling the business of the church. Paul covers a lot of ground in this letter, from issues of leadership and authority to spiritual pride and sin in the church, from instructions on public worship to spiritual gifts and finally ending with a beautiful treatise on the resurrection of Christ. To help us navigate 1 Corinthians is Dr. B.J. Oropeza, professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azuza Pacific University and Seminary and author of a commentary on 1 Corinthians.

Doable Discipleship is a podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 450 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Resources Related to This Episode: https://www.amazon.com/1-Corinthians-New-Covenant-Commentary/dp/1610971043

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Navigating the Bible: Romans - https://youtu.be/hQXntME3Goc
Navigating the Bible: Acts - https://youtu.be/u7ujU81hvjU
Navigating the Bible: John - https://youtu.be/0Q8CqUMoTdE
Navigating the Bible: Luke - https://youtu.be/TKp9FbT3J2k
Navigating the Bible: Mark - https://youtu.be/TfD2cHzAFmc
Navigating the Bible: Matthew - https://youtu.be/TopzGlIuhYg
Navigating the Bible: Malachi - https://youtu.be/Qiwoys1KAa8
Navigating the Bible: Zechariah - https://youtu.be/t3beJht6tZU
Navigating the Bible: Haggai - https://youtu.be/pGFOmTPUgI4
Navigating the Bible: Zephaniah - https://youtu.be/VtKeFsLeG4M
Navigating the Bible: Habakkuk - https://youtu.be/89l0HUQceIw
Navigating the Bible: Nahum - https://youtu.be/USg64a6Kk8w
Navigating the Bible: Micah - https://youtu.be/Tcm3HykhkS8
Navigating the Bible: Jonah - https://youtu.be/PxhIyhLSgJQ
Navigating the Bible: Obadiah - https://youtu.be/jB6W-TM5Y-o
Navigating the Bible: Amos - https://youtu.be/8DqVHu7leDU
Navigating the Bible: Joel - https://youtu.be/Ilg6r300q4U
Navigating the Bible: Hosea - https://youtu.be/nWZ4TuAUSRQ
Navigating the Bible: Daniel - https://youtu.be/bnQ-PioWxfg
Navigating the Bible: Ezekiel - https://youtu.be/hlg6gBYxqsg
Navigating the Bible: Lamentations - https://youtu.be/6rrizlXeYXE
Navigating the Bible: Jeremiah - https://youtu.be/lXPjWl8PdRk
Navigating the Bible: Isaiah - https://youtu.be/NZJLaPkgEgs
Navigating the Bible: Song of Songs - https://youtu.be/Sg0CYlNBVMg
Navigating the Bible: Ecclesiastes - https://youtu.be/-Wr7LCh8F9E
Navigating the Bible: Proverbs - https://youtu.be/DytRT5AsZg8
Navigating the Bible: Psalms - https://youtu.be/oZeesooAYUI
Navigating the Bible: Job - https://youtu.be/14jaf2T1eCQ
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/NB9UTpS1F3M
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Most people today imagine that the point of Christianity is ‘to go to heaven when you die.’ That’s what most believers believe. It’s what most unbelievers believe. They are all wrong. The point of Christianity is not that we should go to heaven. The point of Christianity is that heaven should come to us.” - God's Homecoming

This sentence is the opening of the new book, God’s Homecoming, by N.T. Wright. This central theme continues a message that Dr. Wright started sharing in Surprised By Hope and continues now with even more fervor and urgency as he focuses in on how understanding this message affects how we read the Bible. He says, “The Bible speaks with one voice of God coming to live with humans. Of God coming to be at home with us humans.” I’m honored today to be joined by N.T. Wright. Dr. Wright is one of the world’s leading Bible scholars, currently serving as senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University. He is the former Bishop of Durham and author of many books including Simply Christian, Simply Jesus, Paul: A Biography, and the New Testament for Everyone Commentary series. Today I talk with Dr. Wright about this theme of God’s homecoming and the implications it has for how we read the Bible, what we think about God, what we think about ourselves and all of creation, and much more. Plus, stay through to the end as I have Dr. Wright answer some fun speed round questions and you may even get to hear him sing.

Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 450 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).

Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)

Resources Related to This Episode: https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Homecoming-Forgotten-Promise-Renewal

Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Navigating the Bible: Romans - https://youtu.be/hQXntME3Goc
Navigating the Bible: Acts - https://youtu.be/u7ujU81hvjU
Navigating the Bible: John - https://youtu.be/0Q8CqUMoTdE
Navigating the Bible: Luke - https://youtu.be/TKp9FbT3J2k
Navigating the Bible: Mark - https://youtu.be/TfD2cHzAFmc
Navigating the Bible: Matthew - https://youtu.be/TopzGlIuhYg
Navigating the Bible: Psalms - https://youtu.be/oZeesooAYUI
Navigating the Bible: Job - https://youtu.be/14jaf2T1eCQ
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/NB9UTpS1F3M
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Knowing God Through the Old Testament - https://youtu.be/1IhG2EsPv8c
The Invitation of Confession - https://youtu.be/9be9_2k57VI
The Urgency of Grace in a Worn-Out World - https://youtu.be/kiOQU4TO3QU

Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Photo Credit: Ken Sharp