Shows
Sermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker: Exodus :: Give Us Water to DrinkBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Passage OutlineTasting Bitter Waters (Exodus 15:22–27)Manna and Quail in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16:1–36)"As at Meribah, as on the Day at Massah" (Exodus 17:1–7)Sermon QuestionsReread Exodus 16:13–18.The omer is a unit of measurement describing what is sufficient for each person — in effect, a cap on what the Israelites are to gather. In modern terms, we call this a "lifestyle cap." (Recall Sam's story about John...
2026-01-1825 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker:: They Shall Not Hurt or DestroyBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Isaiah 11:1-10,Matthew 3:1-12.Where do you experience peace, and the lack of it, in your life?How does Christianity both satisfy and undermine exclusively human aspirations for the good life? (Don't take too long on this.)What does it mean for the Christian life — personally and communally — to be anchored in and oriented toward Eden?With whom do you need to make peace? [What appropriate steps can your life group t...
2025-12-0715 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker :: Exodus: The Story of Two WaysBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: .Sermon OutlineGod opposes the way of Egypt.God uses the way of Israel.Sermon QuestionsWhat is the way of Egypt? What is the way of Israel?How do you relate to screens?Where are you from?How does the category of "exodus" make sense of what Jesus has done?Resources ConsultedLeon Kass, Founding God's Nation: Reading ExodusPaul Kingsnorth, Against th...
2025-11-1624 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantRandy Forrester:: Exodus: Looking Back, Moving ForwardBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Exodus 12:43-51, 13:3-16. Luke 22:14-23, 1 Cor 5:6-8.Sermon Notes:Introduction – Moving Forward by Looking BackIllustration: The Boys in the Boat — rowers face backward to move forward.God calls Israel to move forward from Egypt—but commands them to look back through Passover.In the same way, Jesus sends us forward in mission—but sustains us by remember...
2025-11-0921 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker :: Exodus: Returning to GodBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: .Sermon OutlineWhen Moses comes to God in his helplessness, God revealsWho He wasWho He isWho He will beSermon QuestionsWhy did God seek to kill Moses (Exodus 4:21–26)?When Moses comes to Pharaoh, he sits lightly to God's word. How does he add to it? How does he subtract from it?How are you tempted to add to, or subtract from, God's word to...
2025-10-1920 min
The London LyceumAnglicanism, Pastoral Formation, and Thomas Cranmer with Sam ForneckerIn this episode Jordan talks with Dr. Sam Fornecker about the history and theological significance of Anglicanism, focusing on the pivotal figure of Thomas Cranmer. They discuss the Ridley Institute's role in pastoral formation, the structure of Anglicanism, and the enduring influence of the Book of Common Prayer.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the London Lyceum Podcast02:20 Understanding the Ridley Institute and Pastoral Formation05:11 The Role of Anglicanism in Spiritual Growth07:49 Exploring Anglicanism's Historical Context10:36 The Influence of Thomas Cranmer13:08 Cranmer's...
2025-10-0849 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker :: Exodus: The Way of WeaknessBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: .Sermon OutlineFor all that 40-year-old Moses has going for him, he lacksauthority (God hasn't authorized him)a mission (God hasn't sent him)solidarity (Moses hasn't relocated)Sermon QuestionsGod's plan to transform us always begins with planting us among people. What does it say about God that he starts with relationships?Before Moses killed the Egyptian, he looked "this way...
2025-09-2119 minSermons from St. Andrew's ~ Mt. PleasantSam Fornecker: The Unforced Rhythms of GraceBible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Sermon OutlineGod takes from us the arrythmia of anger.God resolves in us dissonance of desire.God tunes our hearts to sing His praise.Questions on Hebrews 13:1–8Do you think desire is a good thing in and of itself? Why or why not?Consider this quote from CS Lewis: "Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling ab...
2025-08-3120 min
The Ridley Institute PodcastFollow Jesus Like It's 199 :: Stephen Presley on Christian Witness in the Age of CaesarHow can Christians stay embedded within our culture while pursuing virtue and rejecting vice, in personal and in public life? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Stephen Presley, author of Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church (Eerdman's, 2024), about what the modern church has to learn from Christians of the second and third centuries.
According to Presley (Cultural Sanctification, p.12), "Christians are necessarily embedded within their culture and must seek sanctification (both personal and corporate) in a way that draws upon the forms and features of their environment to transform them...
2024-10-0742 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastJesus and the Powers, with Mike BirdWhat has God to do with politics? What has the kingdom to do with the cross? And what does it mean to work for a kingdom whose origin lies beyond creation, but whose destiny lies within it?
Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Mike Bird, deputy principal and lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, about insights unpacked in Mike's new book with NT Wright, entitled Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies (Zondervan, 2024).
For more on...
2024-09-1937 minThe Ridley Institute Podcast"We Are Underdone Eschatologically": On Gospel Theology, with Tim PatrickWhat do Christians miss when we extol the cross of Christ (three cheers!), but fail to place emphasize correspondingly the resurrection of Christ, with all its implications for our lives today? How do we turn up the volume on this critical element of the gospel message?
Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Tim Patrick (Principal, Bible College of South Australia). Drawing on two of Tim's books — The Whole Counsel of God (with Andrew Reid, Crossway, 2020), and Establishment Eschatology in England's Reformation (Routledge, 2023) — this conversation asks, "What role has the Bible to play in rect...
2024-06-1750 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastA Praying Church, with Paul MillerSam Fornecker speaks with Paul Miller about his recent book, A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World (Crossway, 2023).
Why does God care if I pray with other Christians? Is a prayer meeting really the best use of my time? What would God do through corporate prayer that He wouldn't do in response to private prayer—or, for that matter, regardless of any prayer at all?
Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Paul Miller, Executive Director of seeJesus and author of several books, including hi...
2024-05-2154 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastFive Lies of an Anti-Christian Age, with Rosaria ButterfieldSam Fornecker speaks with Rosaria Butterfield, about her most recent book, Five Lies of an Anti-Christian Age (Crossway, 2023).
What's the difference between being a Christian in 1992 and 2024? What distinguishes a post-Christian, from an anti-Christian, age? To paraphrase St Paul (Rom. 13:11–14), do we know what time it is?
In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with Rosaria Butterfield about defending the gospel at the level of creation, in the face of challenges ranging from the normalization of misguided anthropologies, to the ascendancy of "exhibitionism" and the dismissal of modesty.
2024-05-0258 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastEchoes of the Incarnation: Early Christian Formation, with Alex FoglemanNo affirmation more roundly rebuts the modern presumption that humans are merely "brains-on-sticks" than the core Christian confession that, in Jesus, God assumed human nature. To reckon fully with this fact is to enter into "a complex set of practices oriented toward the transformation of one's being and understanding of the world," the learning of "habits of body and mind that... draw [us] from foundational faith to beatific knowledge."
So writes Alex Fogleman (Institute for Studies of Religion; founding director, Catechesis Institute), in his new study of early Christian formation, Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christ...
2024-04-1155 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastLost in the Chaos, with R.J. SnellSam Fornecker chats with philosopher R.J. Snell about his latest book, Lost in the Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope (Angelico, 2023).
What have frenzied activists, scheming rationalists, and men in Gandalf garb got in common? Why is each symptomatic of societal despair? And what hope can the Church offer a world no longer pining for the forgiveness of sins?
In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with R.J. Snell (Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ; editor-in-chief of Public Discourse) about the profound despair of contemporary...
2024-03-281h 04The Ridley Institute PodcastCharismatic Christianity, with Helen CollinsSam Fornecker chats with theologian Helen Collins about her recent book, Charismatic Christianity: Introducing Its Theology through the Gifts of the Spirit (Baker Academic, 2023).
What is "charismatic Christianity"? What are its signal emphases, its prevailing values, its cardinal foci? How is it to be understood in relation to Pentecostalism, on the one hand, and the wide world of evangelicalism, on the other? What deficits of the wider Christian family does it seek to redress?
In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with Helen Collins (Vice Principal, Trinity College Bristol) about...
2024-03-1950 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastDoorway to Artistry, with Esther Lightcap MeekSam Fornecker chats with philosopher Esther Lightcap Meek about her book, Doorway to Artistry: Attuning Your Philosophy to Enhance Your Creativity (Wipf & Stock, 2023).
The implicit philosophical outlook of the modern world thwarts and damages our humanness, severing us from the "real." Modernity aims to master nature by arrogantly reducing things to bits and uses. Nothing is legitimate in its own right. This is the anti-philosophical philosophy of our modern world.
In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with Esther Lightcap Meek (author of Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge...
2024-02-2152 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastLeading Christian Communities, with C. Kavin RoweJoin Sam Fornecker for a conversation with C. Kavin Rowe (George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Vice Dean for Faculty, Duke Divinity School). Drawing on Rowe's recent book, Leading Christian Communities (Eerdman's, 2023), this conversation focuses on how the New Testament enables the communities it shapes to envision a faithful and compelling vision of Christian leadership.
2024-01-2546 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastGospel Witness through the Ages, with David GustafsonJoin Sam Fornecker for a chat with David Gustafson (Chair of Mission and Evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). Drawing on insight's from David's book, Gospel Witness through the Ages (Eerdman's, 2022), this conversation focuses on how Christians can learn to fulfill our charge to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4:5) by learning from the evangelistic strengths—and weaknesses—of the Church throughout the ages.
2024-01-1242 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastGender as Love, with Fellipe do ValeWhat is gender, how does it relate to sex, and what's love got to do with it? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Fellipe do Vale, Assistant Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Drawing on do Vale's recent book, Gender as Love: A Theological Account of Human Identity, Embodied Desire, and Our Social Worlds (Baker Academic, 2023), this episode introduces listeners do a deeply theological approach to understanding gender that is both grounded in the biblical story and engaged with the fraught realities of contemporary life.
2023-12-181h 10
The Ridley Institute Podcast[From the Archives] Advent, with Abigail Hull WhitehouseHappy Thanksgiving! On this episode, Sam chats with Abigail Hull Whitehouse (a fellow priest in the Diocese of the Carolinas) about the season of Advent that begins this Sunday. Sam and Abigail discuss the meaning of the Advent season, the apocalyptic theology it brings to the fore, and how listeners can "bring Advent home" through spiritual disciplines and practices, both individually and as families.
2023-12-0147 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastJust Discipleship, with Michael RhodesIn this episode, Sam Fornecker chats with Michael Rhodes (Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College). Dipping toes into Michael's recent book, Just Discipleship: Biblical Justice in an Unjust World (IVP Academic, 2023), this conversation considers a range of questions: What is justice? Does God care about justice—and if so, why? What does God say about justice in the Bible? What is a "jubilary politics"? And what does it mean for the Church to be a moral ecology or contrast society, modeling a different way of being in the world? More information about Michael's earlier book with Robby Ho...
2023-11-0949 min
The Ridley Institute PodcastAstrobiology and Christian Doctrine, with Andrew DavisonWould the discovery of "alien life" overturn the Christian faith? As we gain a clearer picture of the universe — it is estimated that there exist around 400 billion billion potentially habitable planets — it's important that Christians answer with a ready, "Of course not"! Join Sam Fornecker and Andrew Davison, Starbridge Professor of Theology and Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, for a chat about how the Christian tradition enables us to grapple with the theological implications of exobiology. Regardless of what may or may not be "out there," grappling with familiar themes in this way helps us to grow in our unde...
2023-10-191h 15The Ridley Institute PodcastIs God a Vindictive Bully? with Dr. Paul CopanIf God is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16), why does the Bible make Him look like a bully? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Dr. Paul Copan (Pledger Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University) about violence in the Bible: from criminal justice to divine smiting, from cursing psalms to holy war. This conversation draws on Paul's recent book, Is God a Vindictive Bully? (Baker Academic, 2022) to show that a careful reading of the Bible reveals a God at once more holy, more just, and more lovely than we could have imagined.
2023-10-061h 07The Ridley Institute PodcastBurden or Vocation? Dani Treweek on the Meaning of SinglenessJoin Sam Fornecker for a chat with Dani Treweek, founding director of the Single Minded ministry and adjunct teacher at Moore Theological College, about the Christian vision of singleness. Dani's recent book on the subject—The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church (IVP Academic, 2023)—assesses the Church's frequent failure to walk well alongside single people, and argues that the full belonging of single people in the Church must begin with a renewal of the Church's eschatological vision.
2023-09-1548 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastMore than Things: Paul Louis Metzger on Personhood and Christian EthicsJoin Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Paul Louis Metzger, professor of Christian theology and theology of culture at Multnomah University and Seminary, about the role of personhood in Christian ethics. This chat focuses on Paul's remarkable book, More than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture (IVP Academic, 2023). The "reader's guide" mentioned in the episode can be found here. For a teaser of Sam and Paul's conversation, see here, timestamp 4:35.
2023-08-301h 04The Ridley Institute PodcastWill the Real Church Please Stand Up? Stephen Tong on the Edwardian Reformation (1547–1553)Season 3 kicks off with Steve Tong, History Master at Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on Steve's new book, Building the Church of England: The Book of Common Prayer and the Edwardian Reformation (Brill, 2023), this episode looks at how the English Reformers sought to give visible form to the invisible Church, through a gospel-centered ecclesiology and a Bible-based liturgy—and what these efforts can teach believers today.
2023-08-1641 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: First Series RecapJoin Sam Fornecker, Alice Soulieux-Evans, and Jake Griesel, as the gang draw together many of the key themes and insights that have arisen from the seminal reformation texts studied thus far on the New Parker Society series. The New Parker Society series will return after a hiatus, and The Ridley Institute Podcast will be back, Fall 2023!
2023-06-291h 03The Ridley Institute PodcastHow to Find Yourself, with Brian RosnerJoin Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Brian Rosner (Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne) about how the gospel addresses the collective identity crisis of modern society. Exploring the real-life implications of what scholars call expressive individualism, this conversation looks at how the gospel addresses arguably the most urgent question of modern people: "Who am I?" Find Brian's book here.
2023-06-1249 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastBiblical Critical Theory, with Chris Watkin"Make good men wish [Christianity] were true," wrote Blaise Pascal, "then show them that it is." Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Chris Watkin, Associate Professor in French Studies at Monash University, about how a robust understanding of the Bible's story equips Christians to follow Pascal's advice. Introducing listeners to the riot of ideas in Chris's recent book, Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture, this chat provides tools for engaging more discerningly, charitably, and Christianly with modern life and culture.
2023-05-181h 09The Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: Nicholas Ridley's Conferences with Hugh Latimer (1556)In 1556, imprisoned in London's Tower, two Protestant bishops, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, encouraged one another through smuggled letters as they awaited the day of their demise. Those letters became the basis of a publication in 1556, which spurred on evangelical believers to stick to Christ, even when their life was at stake. Join Sam Fornecker, Alice Soulieux-Evans, and Jake Griesel for a discussion of this vivid work, and of the scholarly young bishop — Nicholas Ridley — whose love for Christ, and dedication to the truth of the gospel, lit an imperishable flame in England. Follow along here.
2023-04-181h 10The Ridley Institute PodcastThe Story of Abortion in America, with Leah SavasJoin Abigail Whitehouse and Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Leah Savas, coauthor with Marvin Olasky of The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 1652–2022 (Crossway, 2022). Synthesizing the book's key findings and implications, this conversation equips Christians to (re)integrate reflection on abortion—including its history and attendant present-day realities—into the realm of Christian discipleship. This episode deals with a very sensitive topic, by necessity somewhat graphically; it is not one to listen to within earshot of children.
2023-03-271h 05The Ridley Institute PodcastSmuggling Jesus Back into the Church, with Andrew FellowsSam Fornecker and pastor/apologist Andrew Fellows discuss why "worldliness" is so poorly understood, and weakly challenged, in contemporary Christianity. Drawing on Fellows' recent book, Smuggling Jesus back into the Church: How the Church Became Worldly, and What to Do about It (IVP, 2022), as well as his experience in Christian leadership (including 21 years with the English L'Abri, and a period as chairman of L'Abri International from 2011–2016), this episode tackles several forms of worldliness besetting the Church — from the allure of the Modern Trinity ("Me, Myself, and I"), to the pervasive politicizing of the Church, to the erosion of evangelical conf...
2023-03-0851 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastSt. Augustine and a More Hopeful Politics, with Michael LambJoin Sam and political theorist Michael Lamb, to see how St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 A.D.) helps us to navigate the bleak and cynical political culture of our day. Key to Augustine's approach is the virtue of hope — the virtue that prevents one from veering into the ditches of presumption or despair.
Michael Lamb serves as F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, Executive Director of the Program for Leadership and Character, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities, and Research Fellow with the Oxford Character Project. His most recent book, A Commonwealth of Ho...
2023-02-221h 01The Ridley Institute PodcastA Relationship of Trust with God, with Teresa MorganIn this episode, Sam speaks with Teresa Morgan, McDonald Agape Professor in New Testament and Early Christianity at Yale Divinity School, about the role of trust in the Christian life. Drawing on insights found in Morgan's most recent monograph, 'This Rich Trust': The New Testament and the Theology of Trust (Oxford University Press, 2022), this chat explores what it means to enter into a relationship of trust with God—a relationship in which one gives up trust in one's own judgment, and risks to place oneself in the hands of Jesus.
2023-01-2649 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: Hugh Latimer's Sermons on the Cards (1529) and on the Plough (1548)In this latest installment of the New Parker Society, Sam is joined by Jake Griesel and Mark Earngey (Head of Church History at Moore Theological College, Sydney), to discuss selections from the preaching of the English Reformer, Hugh Latimer (c.1487–1555). To follow along with the Sermons on the Cards and the Sermon on the Plough, click here (see pages 3–24 for the Sermons on the Cards and 59–78 for the Sermon on the Plough).
2023-01-1949 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastFreedom: Christianity's Gift to the World, with D.C. SchindlerJoin Sam Fornecker for a chat with D.C. Schindler, Professor of Metaphysics and Anthropology at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., about Christianity's gift to the world—the gift of freedom. Drawing on a wealth of insights in Schindler's new book, Retrieving Freedom: The Christian Appropriation of Classical Tradition (Notre Dame, 2022), this conversation explores vital questions, ranging from the relationship of Jewish and Greek thought to Christianity, to the devastating consequences of affirming half-truths about God and ourselves.
2022-12-011h 00The Ridley Institute PodcastTestament, with Micheal O'SiadhailIn this episode, Sam is joined by Micheal O'Siadhail, Distinguished Poet in Residence at Union Theological Seminary, to reflect on themes inspired by O'Siadhail's latest collection of poetry, Testament (Baylor University Press, 2022).
2022-11-281h 06The Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: John Bradford's Godly Meditations on the Lord's PrayerJoin Sam, Alice, and Jake for a conversation about the English reformer and Marian martyr, John Bradford (1510–1555). In this episode of the New Parker Society series, the team focuses broadly on Bradford's devotional works, homing in especially Bradford's meditations on the Lord's Prayer. Read along here.
2022-10-261h 34The Ridley Institute PodcastOn Genesis and Gender: A Tale of Two Paradigms, with Dr. Abigail FavaleJoin Sam, as he sits down with Abigail Favale, professor at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss the ideas, insights, and stories told in her recent book, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory (Ignatius, 2022). Among other things, Sam and Abigail discuss the shape of an authentically Christian feminism, the advent and meaning of the "gender paradigm," the gift of sexed personhood, and how Transfiguration meets the deepest desire of our transgender moment.
2022-09-221h 09The Ridley Institute PodcastOn the Gospel and the Gospels, with Professor Simon GathercoleSam speaks with Simon Gathercole, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Cambridge University, on early Christian gospel literature, the theological message uniting the gospels of the New Testament canon, and why The Da Vinci Code is probably not the ideal source for information on Jesus Christ (or, ahem, New Testament scholarship). Gathercole's latest book on the gospels, discussed throughout this conversation, can be found here. Listeners can access the lectures mentioned toward the end of the episode by clicking here.
2022-09-081h 01The Ridley Institute PodcastVirtuous Persuasion, with Michael NiebauerIn this episode, Sam chats with Michael Niebauer about the theology of mission sketched in his provocative recent book, Virtuous Persuasion: A Theology of Christian Mission (Lexham Press, 2022). Drawing on lines of thought developed in Virtuous Persuasion, Sam and Mike survey current models of Christian mission, considering where each breaks down theologically, before exploring an alternative model of mission grounded in theological ethics. Drawing on the diverse voices of Thomas Aquinas, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Oliver O'Donovan, this episode introduces listeners to Niebauer's fresh lens on Christian mission, one which will be of immediate use for all Christian missionaries—whether th...
2022-08-2552 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: Thomas Cranmer on the Lord's Supper (1550)For those desiring to understand Anglican teaching on Holy Communion, one could do worse than turn to the writings of the English reformers themselves. In this episode, Sam Fornecker and Alice Soulieux-Evans revisit the great English reformer, Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556). Having previously examined Cranmer the preacher, this episode considers Cranmer the theologian, as Sam and Alice take listeners on a guided tour through Cranmer's first book-length work, A Defence of the True and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ (1550).
Jake Griesel is away for this episode. We look forward to having him bac...
2022-06-271h 03The Ridley Institute PodcastAgrarian Spirit, with Norman WirzbaIn this finale of the inaugural season of The Ridley Institute Podcast, Sam talks with Norman Wirzba, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School. Drawing on themes from Wirzba's forthcoming book, Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022), Sam and Norman explore how the cultivation of an "agrarian" vision of core Christian spiritual practices — including, but not limited to, prayer and perception — can guide the heart of the Christian into ever-greater alignment with the heart of God.
2022-06-0252 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastUprooted, with Gracy OlmsteadSam talks with Gracy Olmstead, author of Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind (Sentinel, 2021), about local culture, the American dream, and the challenges and possibilities of living with roots in a transient society.
2022-05-2648 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastWhat Are Christians For?, with Jake MeadorWhat would happen if you put Abraham Kuyper in a microwave with Catholic social teaching? Just possibly, something like Jake Meador's most recent book, What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World (IVP, 2022). In this episode, Sam is joined by Jake, editor in chief of Mere Orthodoxy, to discuss a number of issues, ranging from place, race, and the revolutionary spirit, to the beauties of hospitality, honey sticks, and expertly trimmed brisket.
2022-05-1255 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: Thomas Cranmer, Homilies (1547)In this latest installment of the New Parker Society — the first of two on the great English reformer and Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer — Sam is joined Jake Griesel and Steve Tong to discuss the genre of the sermon. Key to the conversation is Cranmer's role in the construction of the Book of Homilies (1547), and the theological and pastoral genius animating, in particular, the incomparable third homily, "A Sermon of the Salvation of Mankind by Only Christ Our Saviour from Sin and Death Everlasting." (Special thanks to Alice Soulieux-Evans, for her help behind the scenes, despite her unavailability for this...
2022-04-281h 00The Ridley Institute PodcastOn Faith and Meaning, with Os GuinnessIn this episode, Sam chats with speaker, writer, and social critic, Os Guinness. Discussing themes developed in his most recent book, The Great Quest: Invitation to an Examined Life and a Sure Path to Meaning (InterVarsity, 2022), Os and Sam explore big questions about faith, reason, and the meaning of life. In the spirit of great Christian thinkers like Blaise Pascal, G.K. Chesterton, and C.S. Lewis, Os helps listeners to grasp how Christianity both questions our answers, and answers our questions.
2022-04-1945 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastThe Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis, with Jason BaxterIn this episode, Sam is joined by Jason Baxter, Associate Professor of Fine Arts and Humanities at Wyoming Catholic College, to discuss the "British Boethius," C.S. Lewis. Unfolding aspects of Jason's recent book, The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind (InterVarsity Academic, 2022), Jason and Sam discuss why Lewis treasured the middle ages, and what modern people stand to gain from retrieving the medieval mind.
2022-03-3156 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastTrinity and Salvation, with Fred SandersOn this much-anticipated episode, Sam is joined by Fred Sanders, professor of theology in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University. Drawing on insights from Fred’s recent book, Fountain of Salvation: Trinity and Soteriology (Eerdman’s, 2021), Sam and Fred discuss why properly relating the doctrines of the Trinity and salvation can foster enormous fruitfulness in the realms of Christian doctrine, life, and mission.
2022-03-1154 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: John Hooper, A Declaration of Christ and His Office (1547)Join Alice, Jake, and Sam for the third installment of the New Parker Society series. This time, the gang meets to discuss the bishop of Gloucester and of Worcester, John Hooper's 1547 work, A Declaration of Christ and His Office. The late David Steinmetz described Hooper as a "volcano of energy, who shook the indifferent out of their self-satisfaction and who let the ignorant and slothful catch a sobering whiff of brimstone." Suffice to say — this one will leave you whistling the theme song.
2022-02-251h 06The Ridley Institute PodcastThe Gospel of John, with David FordOn this episode, Sam is joined by David Ford, Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, to discuss his recently published The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (SPCK/Baker Academic, 2021). Drawing on decades of theological reflection distilled in that book, this conversation brings into focus key aspects of John's Gospel, including its sheer superabundance of meaning, its concern with the rehabilitation of desire in Christian discipleship, and its endlessly generative resources for growing in practices of prayer, truth-seeking, and love.
2022-02-1046 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastA Dozen Things God Did With Your Sin, with Sam StormsOn this episode, Sam chats with Sam Storms, Lead Pastor at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City and author of numerous books, including the recently published A Dozen Things God Did With Your Sin (And Three Things He'll Never Do) (Crossway, 2022). Join Sam (and Sam) as they discuss the cross of Christ, the grace of God, and the glorious possibility—for every guilt and shame-laden believer—of experiential communion with the triune God.
2022-01-2743 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastCarved in Ebony, with Jasmine HolmesOn this episode, Sam is joined by Jasmine Holmes, to discuss her new book, Carved in Ebony: Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us (Bethany House, 2021). Drawing on the stories of ten remarkable Black women of mid-nineteenth century American history, Jasmine and Sam discuss what it meant for women like Nannie Helen Burroughs, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Amanda Berry Smith, to be God's image "carved in ebony"—and how Christians stand to gain from their legacy today.
2022-01-1343 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: William Tyndale, The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528)On this second installment of the New Parker Society series, Sam is joined once again by Alice Soulieux-Evans and Jake Griesel, for the friends' first deep dive into a key work of the Parker Society Library: this week, a work of the English reformer, William Tyndale (c.1494–1536). Tyndale's The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528) remains — second only to his biblical translations — the reformer's most influential theological work. Join Alice, Jake, and Sam as they discuss what Tyndale has to say to Christians today about faith, grace, gospel obedience, sacramental worship, biblical interpretation, and more.
2021-12-211h 15The Ridley Institute PodcastRedeeming Expertise, with Dr Josh ReevesOn this episode, Sam is joined by Josh Reeves, Director of the Samford Center for Science and Religion at Samford University. This conversation, building on insights from Reeves' new book, Redeeming Expertise: Scientific Trust and the Future of the Church (Baylor University Press, 2021), explores a variety of related concerns, including the relation of science and faith, skepticism of scientific expertise, and guidelines for exercising trust with wisdom, discernment, and humility.
2021-12-1352 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastOn Thinking Better, with Ulrich LehnerOn this episode, Sam chats with Ulrich Lehner, William K. Wood Professor of Theology at the University of Notre-Dame, who believes that reason lies at the heart of the good life. Drawing on themes explored in his book, Think Better: Unlocking the Power of Reason (Baker Academic, 2021), Lehner outlines an approach to reasoning that is intimately shaped by a Christian worldview, yet simultaneously remains accessible to anyone seeking a richer, clearer, and more empathic experience of life.
2021-11-1147 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastNew Parker Society :: Introduction to the ProjectHappy Reformation Day!
On this episode, Sam is joined by two friends, Alice Soulieux-Evans and Jake Griesel, to discuss the Parker Society Library — a collection of key texts from the English Reformation during the sixteenth-century. In coming episodes, Sam, Alice, and Jake will guide listeners through select works from the Library. But first, the team meets to discuss the origins, significance, and ongoing relevance of the Parker Society Library.
The Ridley Institute Podcast will continue running, as previously, on a biweekly basis. "New Parker Society" episodes will release every other month. NPS listeners, join us agai...
2021-10-3154 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastPiercing Leviathan, with Dr Eric OrtlundDr Eric Ortlund joins Sam for a conversation about the book of Job, and why this profoundly painful book may be the most joyful one in the Bible. Unfolding insights from his recent book, Piercing Leviathan: God's Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job (IVP Academic/Apollo, 2021), Ortlund shows how Job transforms us through uncomfortable reflection on the place of suffering in the Christian life, the ways of wise and life-giving counsel to suffering Christians, and what it means to love God for God's sake.
2021-10-1448 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastApprenticeship to Jesus, with Dr Catherine WrightDr Catherine Wright joins Sam for a conversation about apprenticeship to Jesus. Unfolding themes from her book, Spiritual Practices of Jesus: Learning Simplicity, Humility, and Prayer with Luke's Earliest Readers (IVP Academic, 2020), Dr. Wright discusses how Luke's gospel, especially as read with the help of the early church fathers, calls readers to a relationship that entails new ways of relating to poverty, status, and desire.
2021-09-3048 minThe Ridley Institute PodcastOn Humanity and Humility, with Dr. Rebecca McLaughlinDr. Rebecca McLaughlin joins Sam for a conversation about how to communicate the gospel with humanity and humility. Drawing out themes from her book, Confronting Christianity (Crossway, 2019), Dr. McLaughlin addresses some common pitfalls of Christian apologetics, the difficulty and promise of genuine listening, and (perhaps?) the hardest question raised by the claims of the Christian faith.
2021-09-1444 min
Restoration Anglican Church StauntonThe Only Undecaying King | Acts 13Scripture Readings
(00:00) OT – Isaiah 11:1-10
(01:38) Psalm 16
(03:18) NT – Acts 13:13-43
(07:45) Gospel – Luke 24:36–48
(09:38) Sermon – The Rev. Dr. Sam Fornecker
2021-04-1142 min