Shows
A Stranger in the House of GodInsatiable Desire and World Weariness: Signs We Were Made for EternitySend us a textI have heard more than one Christian express reservations about what we can look forward to in the age to come. What is it about Heaven that makes some of us nervous? John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He...2025-06-2712 minA Stranger in the House of GodSlow Faith: Lessons About Belief From the DisciplesSend us a textWhen Jesus called the two disciples on the Emmaus Road "slow to believe," he was describing many of us as well. The disciples' struggle to believe provides insight into our own slow faith. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the author of 16 books. His latest book , When God is Silent, is published by Lexham Press. You can learn more about J...2025-04-2316 minA Stranger in the House of GodThe Rediscovered Country: Heaven is More Familiar Than We ThinkSend us a text Shakespeare called death “the undiscovered country.” But its environs may be more familiar than we think. The landscape of the undiscovered country is not as alien as we thought. Nor do we have to wait until we pass through the gates of death to catch a glimpse of its powers. In fact, if we take Scripture at its word, all those who are in Christ are already in residence there in some mysterious sense. Today's topic reflects the theme of John's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality...2025-03-2711 minA Stranger in the House of GodFull of Days: The Five Blessings of Old AgeSend us a textScripture says that Job died "old and full of days." Unlike our culture, which tends to view old age through the lens of loss and debilitation, the Bible's perspective on aging is generally positive. What are the five "blessings" that come with old age?Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the author of 16 books. His latest book , When God is...2025-01-3114 minA Stranger in the House of GodEternity Shut in a Span: The Nativity of Christ as the Ultimate EpiphanySend us a textChristmas is the day that holds pride of place for most Christians. Of all the holidays, it is the one that garners the lion's share of our attention and generates the most excitement. But this has not always been the case. In terms of church history, Christmas, at least as we now observe it, was a relative latecomer. The earliest Christians showed relatively little interest in fixing the precise date of Christ's birth. However, we would be wrong to conclude from this that they viewed it as either unhistorical or unimportant. The Nativity...2024-12-0915 minA Stranger in the House of GodEntertaining the Strange: Conversation as an Act of HospitalitySend us a textDuring this past presidential election, Joe Rogan attempted to sit down with Kamala Harris for an interview. When they were unable to come to terms, he expressed disappointment. "I hope she does," Rogan said. "I will talk to her like a human being. I would try to have a conversation with her." Whatever you may think of Rogan, he was correct in describing conversation as the art of talking to someone like a human being. What is it about the nature of conversation that makes it "the most concrete, palpable, frequent and important...2024-11-2517 minA Stranger in the House of GodJob and the Divine Game: Faith Amidst SufferingSend us a textIn a letter discussing the infant theory of quantum mechanics, Albert Einstein famously observed that God “does not play dice.” Perhaps, but sometimes, it feels as if God does play games with us. What is the nature of what Martin Luther called "the divine game?" John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theolo...2024-11-1313 minA Stranger in the House of GodTechnological Servant or Tool of Technopoly? LOGOS Takes a LeapSend us a textJohn offers a review of Logos Bible Software's new subscription model, designed to enhance accessibility and maintain revenue. Mixed user feedback highlights concerns about costs versus value and the introduction of AI features into the software. John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on pr...2024-10-3114 minA Stranger in the House of GodPlaying God: The Unexpected AttributeSend us a textPlayfulness is not typically attributed to the divine. Common descriptors include holy, sovereign, just, and merciful. Attributes such as omniscience, omnipresence, and self-sufficiency are well-acknowledged. However, playfulness seldom makes it into theological discourse. throughout the Bible, the grace note reflected in God’s dealings with humanity is that of mirth.John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the...2024-09-1309 minA Stranger in the House of GodSpitting Away From the Angels: Faith, Imagination, & the Reality of the ChurchSend us a textThe church is a caravan. It travels in company. In one of his sermons on the nature of Christ, Saint Augustine pictures the church as being a community of faith that stretches across the globe but across time. Or as he put it, “from Abel the just to the end of the world.” This is not what I usually see when the congregation assembles. I can’t help but notice how drab my view of the same spiritual landscape is by comparison. I wonder why my church seems to be so different from theirs...2024-05-0112 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Faith, Hope, & PrayerSend us a text Faith and hope are essential in prayer. But how much faith is enough before God will answer? John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the author of 16 books. His latest book , When God is Silent, is published by...2024-04-0315 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Prayers Without WordsSend us a textSome years ago, a friend admitted to me that she couldn’t pray. She is not alone. Some of the godliest people have found themselves at a loss for words in the presence of God. How do we pray when we have no words?John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in...2024-02-2713 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Jesus on PrayerSend us a textEveryone learns to talk by imitation. Most people learn to pray the same way. They hear the prayers of others and copy them. Jesus’s disciples learned how to pray from Jesus. His model prayer, usually referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, is a prayer that we can pray for ourselves, but it is also a kind of template. John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and re...2024-01-2513 minA Stranger in the House of GodThe Christmas StorySend us a textIt is not a hyperbole to describe the Christmas story as fantastic. That is to say, it has all the characteristics of a fantasy. C. S. Lewis observed, ""The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a...2023-12-1010 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-How to Stay Focused During PrayerSend us a textMany things can get in the way of praying. But one of the most common obstacles is boredom. Prayer can sometimes seem tedious. How do we stay focused when praying? John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the...2023-10-3114 min
Expositors CollectivePreaching that is Prayerful and Priestly - John KoesslerJohn Koessler is a self proclaimed "amateur" when it comes to praying, and in this honest and insightful conversation with Mike he speaks about the difference between human and divine conversation, and how it informs his preaching, which he defines as a conversation that he has with people, based on a previous conversation that he had with God. He contrasts prophetic preaching, which can come off as preaching "against" the people, and priestly preaching, which is preaching "for" or "with" the people. "Preaching is the communicating of divine truth through human personality." -Phillips Brooks...2023-10-171h 02A Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Praying in the Words of AnotherSend us a textWhich kind of praying is better, memorized prayers, written prayers, or extemporaneous prayers that we make up in the moment? John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the author of 16 books. His latest book , When God is Si...2023-09-1711 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Managing Our Angry PrayersSend us a textSometimes when we pray, we are angry with other people. On other occasions, we pray because we are angry with God. How do we manage our angry prayers? John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in the Word and a monthly column on prayer for Mature Living. He is the author of...2023-07-2114 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-The Art of Praying for OthersSend us a textDo a search on books about intercessory prayer on the Internet, and the overall impression you get is that our concerns in this area are primarily concerns of focus and method. Intercession isn't exactly rocket science but that doesn't mean that it is easy. John Koessler's latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Reality, is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Practical Theology column for Today in...2023-07-0513 minA Stranger in the House of GodWhen God is Silent-Praying and Getting What You Want . . . or NotSend us a textPrayer is an act of communion with God. But for most of us, it’s also about getting something from God. Most prayers include an “ask” of some kind. We aren’t praying just to hear ourselves talk. We do not struggle with prayer because it is hard. Our problem is that we are not sure it is worthwhile. We suspect that God is not interested in our case or fear that he will not decide matters in our favor. Delay and denial are the major reasons for this uncertainty. We pray, but the answ...2023-06-2413 min