Shows
Restitutio639. Restoration Theology 5: Old Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
This is part four of the Restoration Theology class.
The Old Testament, also called the Hebrew Bible, is a collection of 39 books written before the time of Christ. Today you’re going to learn about the three major manuscript families of the OT: (1) the Masoretic Text, (2) the Septuagint, and (3) the Samaritan Pentateuch. Like last time, we’ll go through several of the most significant manuscripts while also covering some of the most exciting stories of discovery. My goal here is simply to familiarize you with the texts upon which our Old Testaments are based, so that when you...
2026-02-1256 min
Restitutio638. Restoration Theology 4: New Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
This is part four of the Restoration Theology class.
Last time we covered the importance of using the Bible to build our beliefs. But what is the Bible? Well, it wasn’t written in American English or in the West or in recent history. The Bible is a library of books written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Still, that doesn’t quite answer the question of what the Bible is. Let’s just focus on the New Testament (NT) for a moment. The NT contains twenty-seven books written in Greek. But that still doesn’t tell you the whol...
2026-02-0554 min
Restitutio637. Restoration Theology 3: The Primacy and Perspicutiy of Scripture
This is part three of the Restoration Theology class.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about communicating with people who don’t come from my background, it’s that assumptions matter. It’s important to know what I’m assuming and what the other is assuming so we can have meaningful dialog. In our episode today, we’re talking about two presuppositions that restorationists bring to theology: primacy and perspicuity. These two are key footings upon which we will build the foundation of restoration theology. For some of you, what I have to say will seem...
2026-01-3051 min
Restitutio636. Restoration Theology 2: Milestones on the Road to Modern Restorationism
This is part two of the Restoration Theology class.
Restorationism–the impulse to restore authentic Christianity–is not new. Before diving in to learn how to build a proper restoration theology, we owe it to those who have come before us, to remember how we got here. Although we generally take for granted our freedom to dissent from the governing authorities and the unprecedented access to information we have today, our advantages are the result of centuries of struggle. Today we’ll contextualize modern restorationism as the climactic end of a chain of events stretching back f...
2026-01-2347 min
Restitutio635. Restoration Theology 1: Why Restore Authentic Christianity?
This is part one of the Restoration Theology class.
How do you know what to believe? Have you ever been frustrated when hearing multiple perspective on a doctrine and weren’t sure which to believe? There are so many denominations out there, each with its own statement of faith and traditions. How can you be sure that the beliefs you inherited are really true? Will you be satisfied if I just say, “Trust me. I’m a pastor. I’ve been to seminary. Don’t trouble yourself with figuring out doctrine. I’m the expert; you’re the l...
2026-01-1652 min
Restitutio634. Six Ways to Kill Your Community (Sean Finnegan)
One of the great concerns that many of us pastors have about our churches is the lack of community. So often people come, sit for a while, and leave without making any real connections with others who are present. In other cases, a self-centered, spectator mindset leads to cynicism and misery, which, in turn, degrades or divides the community. I originally delivered this sermon back in January of 2022 at a weekend event called Revive, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. It was a time of intense partisan politics, accusations of racism, and much civil unrest. Rather than...
2026-01-091h 00
Restitutio633. Baptist Pastor Finds Biblical God (Greg Cheney)
Greg Cheney grew up in Texas where he joined the Independent Fundamental Baptists. In his twenties, he felt a call to ministry, which resulted in ordination and serving in three Baptist churches. After an unpleasant five years in ministry, Cheney found himself in the corrections industry. At this point, with no remaining institutional ties, he began questioning his beliefs on a variety of subjects. This is his story.
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2026-01-0251 min
Restitutio632. New Creation in Christ (Sean Finnegan)
Is new creation here now or must we until Christ’s coming to experience it? If new creation is here now, what does that mean? How can you participate in it? Join me as we consider what it means to be in Christ today. We’ll see that not only has God created a whole new realm through Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, but also that this new creation spans both heaven and earth.
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2025-12-2746 min
Restitutio631. Unto Us a Child Is Born (Sean Finnegan)
Who is the child Isaiah prophesied about in the famous line, “For unto us a child is born”? Although most Christians see this as a reference to Jesus, we should first ask what this meant to Isaiah and his original audience seven centuries before Christ. When we do, we see that this prophecy was actually about deliverance from the Assyrian Empire and an unprecedented, miraculous military victory. Even so, Jesus also fulfilled aspects of this prophecy in his ministry, and I believe he will fulfill the rest when he comes again.
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2025-12-1954 min
Restitutio630. Australia to Host Inaugural UCA Conference
Today we’re promoting a couple of upcoming events in 2026. First up is the inaugural conference near Sydney, Australia for the Unitarian Christian Alliance. This will be a weekend of scholarly presentations as well as practical workshops. In what follows I chat with several of the organizers for the event, including Matthew Bradley, Jeff Deuble, Andrew and Vivienne Johnstone, Ali Steer, and Kerry Weinholz. After that we’ll hear some comments on recent episodes and then I’ll give information about our upcoming winter event here in New York, called Revive. I hope I can see you at one...
2025-12-1138 min
Restitutio629. Debating Al Garza: “Is Jesus Yahweh?” (Mike Temperato)
Metaphysics Mike talks about his recent debate with Al Garza over the question is Jesus Yahweh. In the four-hour ordeal, two aspects of Garza’s unusual belief system made for a confusing and frustrating discussion: (1) Garza believes that Yahweh is not a name but an attributive title asserting eternality, and (2) he thinks the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targums have primacy over the standard Hebrew and Greek Scriptures that virtually all Christians recognize as the foundation of our faith. In this debate review we talk about Mike’s experience and how he handled these curve balls and I give...
2025-12-051h 16
Restitutio628. How Will God Raise the Dead? (Scott Sperling)After graduating from Caltech with a degree in physics, Scott Sperling pursued computer science and ended up working in rocket science. He’s also been a Christian for decades and has applied his analytical mind to Bible study, especially on his website ScriptureStudies.com. In this interview I ask him about his paper, “A Hypothesis for the Mechanism of Bodily Resurrection” in which he explains how God can raise the dead on the basis of DNA and the neural connectome. He does not see any need for the existence of an immaterial soul or dualism to account for biblical resurr...
2025-11-301h 08
Restitutio627. Heroes of Faith: Ezra (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Ezra stood at the precipice of history. God’s people had returned to the land after a traumatic seventy years in exile. They had begun rebuilding, but they had already–perhaps unknowingly–taken steps that would land them back into idolatry. Ezra’s stand for God changed the course of history. Not only was he a man of great faith who taught the Bible with clarity, but he also was a revivalist who inspired repentance and fidelity to God. In today’s episode, listen in to consider important lessons from Ezra’s life that can hel...
2025-11-2055 min
Restitutio626. Heroes of Faith: Esther (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
The book of Esther tells the story of a tragedy turned into a miraculous deliverance. But even more than that, it teaches us about courage. There are times in life when remaining faithful to God may cost you everything. What will you do if you find yourself in that kind of situation? I hope you will be like Esther who resolved to do the right thing “And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4.16). In this sermon, we continue our heroes of faith series by considering Esther, a true role model for us today.
2025-11-131h 11
Restitutio625. Heroes of Faith: Daniel (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
How does your faith affect you at work? Of course, there’s the classic verse about working heartily unto the Lord, but beyond working hard, how does your faith affect you at work? Today in part seven of our Heroes of Faith series, we’re going to look at the life of Daniel. Although he was a prophet of great significance, he also worked for the government in an incredibly difficult time. By considering how he navigated the workplace, we can learn much about how to live out our faith at work.
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2025-11-0747 min
Restitutio624. The Disciple Collective (Josiah Cain and Levi Salyers)Have you heard of the Disciple Collective? It’s a new website putting out free Christian courses. In this interview I talk with Pastors Josiah Cain and Levi Salyers about this new project, including whom the Disciple Collective is for, what courses are available, how they’re putting them together, and what motivated them to embark on such an ambitious project. This is something you’ve got to check out. It’s more than just videos–it’s a whole learning environment with quizzes, notes, discussion opportunities, and more.
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2025-10-3052 min
Restitutio623. Heroes of Faith: Hosea (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Today is part 6 of our “Heroes of Faith” series. I hope you are enjoying it so far. Sometimes it’s good for the soul to be inspired and encouraged by heroic people in the Bible. Now we come to Hosea, one of the least read prophets in the Bible, though he has so much to say to us today. In fact, I would argue that for many of us our economic situation more closely resembles what Israel was like in Hosea’s day than any other in scripture. By listening to his message to the p...
2025-10-241h 04
Restitutio622. Heroes of Faith: Hagar, Abigail, Jehoshabeath (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Today we’re going to consider a triplet of three heroes of faith: Hagar, Abigail, and Jehoshabeath. Originally this sermon was called “Women of Integrity,” but I think it fits our current series on heroes of faith nicely. I find their examples inspiring because they went through serious hardships and yet they chose to do the right thing. Anyone can pursue righteousness when the sky is blue, the birds are singing, and all is right with the world. However, when the wheels fall off, that’s when you find out what you’re made of. H...
2025-10-1748 min
Restitutio621. Heroes of Faith: Elisha (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Are you selling yourself short? Have you settled for the status quo? Is your faith too small? These are important questions to ask yourself from time to time. Is God calling to change something, move somewhere, or do something new? Today in our Heroes of Faith series we’ll look at the example of Elisha. He was a bold prophet who did extraordinary things for God in his lifetime. I find his example inspiring and I hope you will as well.
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2025-10-1345 min
Restitutio620. Heroes of Faith: Hannah (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
With Hannah, we aren’t told what the cause was of her barrenness. We just know that it was a heavy load to bear in her time. Although in our time, many of us use contraceptives or go through procedures to ensure we don’t keep having children, Hannah’s time was different. Children were understood to be blessings from God that were absolutely essential for carrying on the family into the next generation. Join me as we learn from the life of Hannah to see how she navigated such a difficult situation. I thin...
2025-10-0353 min
Restitutio619. Heroes of Faith: Ruth (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Ruth was an extraordinarily courageous and loyal woman of God. In our society of disposable relationships, cancel culture, and cutting off parents, Ruth presents us with a challenge to stick with family even when calamity strikes and hope seems lost. As a Moabite, Ruth was unlikely to be accepted in Israelite society. Even the Torah itself codified exclusion of all Moabites. Even though she was likely to face unfair prejudice and racism, she still chose loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, over her own comfort and security. In the end, she found the love...
2025-09-2555 min
Restitutio618. Heroes of Faith: Noah (Sean Finnegan)Heroes of Faith Series
Today we’re beginning a new series called “Heroes of Faith.” For each of these episodes we’ll focus on someone who stood for God. My aim with this series is to inspire and encourage you in your faith. Today we’re looking at Noah. Although often relegated to children’s stories, his story is rather macabre. Living in a time of spiritual and human rebellion, Noah pursued righteousness. Although he had none of the advantages that Christians enjoy because of the accomplishments of Christ, still, even back then, he could stand for God amidst i...
2025-09-1946 min
Restitutio617. Focus on Hope (Sean Finnegan)I’d like to dedicate this episode to my mother, Mimi Finnegan who fell asleep in death yesterday. It was such a surreal experience, standing by that hospital bed with my brothers and sisters and dad. We had so much confusion regarding her prognosis, but eventually it became clear that she had very little time left. We prayed for her, read scripture to her, played some of her favorite Christian songs, and said goodbye to her. But what really grabbed my attention was her smile. She kept smiling as she knew she was dying.
She was quite al...
2025-09-1246 min
Restitutio616. Herod Antipas vs. Simon Peter (Sean Finnegan, Victor Gluckin)Quick question: “If you lived in the Roman Empire who would you want to be?” Most of us answering this question would immediately think, “the emperor” or “a wealthy person of importance.” Herod Antipas was just such a person. A son of Herod the Great and ruler of Galilee and Perea, Antipas was an influential and powerful person in the time of Christ. He was part of the tiny percentage of people with wealth and access to the life of the Roman elite. He was a competent and clever person, but he was also the victim of circumstances. By contrast Sim...
2025-09-0551 min
Restitutio615. Who Is the Real King of the Jews? (Sean Finnegan)Peering into the very late first century BC we find the briefest overlap of two individuals, both of whom would claim to be the king of the Jews. On the one hand we see Herod the Great, a capable and fierce man, full of ambition and paranoia. On the other hand, we see Jesus of Nazareth, who taught love, sacrifice, and humility. I wonder, which do you consider to be the real king of the Jews? Of course, if you’re a Christian, you’ll say “Jesus,” but do you really believe his approach to life is effective? Let’s take a m...
2025-08-3053 min
Restitutio614. God Is Moving in Our Time (Sean Finnegan)Do you ever feel discouraged? Do you ever think, “Why has God allowed so many to get off track?” Has someone challenged you with the question, “If you’re right about Christian theology, then why in the world would God allow the majority of Christians to be deceived for so many centuries?” Join me as we look to Isaiah 41 to see how God worked with ancient Israel to encourage them when they were tiny minority of true worshipers living in a world brimming with idolatry. Even though Israel was an island of truth in a sea of error, God told them...
2025-08-2148 min
Restitutio612. Colossians 1.16: Old Creation or New Creation? (Sean Finnegan)How should we understand the words, “in him all things were created” in Col 1.16? Although commonly taken to mean Christ created the universe, this view has contextual, structural, and exegetical problems. In what follows I’ll name six problems with old-creation readings before laying out why a new creation approach makes sense. I presented this talk at the 2025 Unitarian Christian Alliance (UCA) conference in Uxbridge, England. Scroll down to see the full-length paper, audio podcast, and full video.
For those listening to the audio, here’s a quick reference to Colossians 1.15-20
Strophe 1 (Col 1.15-18a)
2025-08-0854 min
Restitutio611. The Gospel of the Kingdom, Cross, and Resurrection (Sean Finnegan)Today is part three of our summer mini-series on evangelism. We started two weeks ago with a focus on God’s heart for the lost. Then last week we heard how simple it is to find opportunities to speak to people. Still, we need to cover what the message is that we ultimately want to share with the lost. Today you’ll learn about the rich, threefold message of the kingdom, the cross, and the resurrection. Today’s sermon will equip you with what you need to know to share the full gospel with those you encounter.
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2025-08-0153 min
Restitutio610. Everyday Evangelism Encounters (David Sowers)Last week we began our summer mini-series on evangelism with a focus on why we should reach the lost. Today I’ve got a real treat for you. In this powerful message, David Sowers challenges believers to move beyond their comfort zones and share the gospel with the lost. His stories of everyday evangelism encounters will demystify the whole idea of telling people about Jesus. You don’t need to be exceptionally well-studied, full of charisma, or educated in psychology. All you need to do is open your eyes and step out in faith in little ways as God lead...
2025-07-251h 00
Restitutio609. Do You Care about the Lost? (Vince Finnegan)Many of us are annoyed by non-Christians. They mock our beliefs, criticize our way of life, and undermine us at every turn. If you’re honest with yourself, you probably would be happy to have a world with only Christians–real Christians–in it, right? However, this is not God’s heart–at least not right now. In today’s episode, my father, Vince Finnegan, reveals God’s deep, active loving compassion for humanity. No better example of God’s heart for the lost can be found than looking to his son. Jesus embodied that compassion, tirelessly ministering to the hurting, the...
2025-07-1849 min
Restitutio608. Six Quick Points on the Genuine Jesus (Brandon Duke)This is a follow up to our 5-part response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics.
Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with a coworker, acquaintance, or family member trying to explain who Jesus is? Every wish there was a simple acrostic that could guide you through a brief yet thoughtful presentation of who Jesus is? Well, friend, you need look no further. After spending five weeks responding to arguments for the deity of Christ, Brandon Duke and I are going to do an entire episode focused on a positive case for the genuine...
2025-07-111h 06
Restitutio607. Did Jesus Really Sit on God’s Throne? (Brandon Duke)This is part 5 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics.
Today in our fifth episode in this series critiquing the book, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics, we broach the topic of thrones. If Jesus sits on God’s throne, does that make him God too? If so, isn’t that two Gods? We’ll deal with these kinds of questions while examining throne texts, including Daniel 7.13-14; Psalm 110.1; Revelation 3.21; and Hebrews 1.3. In each case we’ll see how incredibly subordinationist the throne texts are.
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2025-07-041h 12
Restitutio606. Did Jesus Really Do What Only God Can Do? (Brandon Duke)This is part 4 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics.
Only God has power over nature. Jesus walked on water. Therefore Jesus must be God. Right? Does that line of reasoning convince you? How about this one. Only God has power over nature. Elijah called down fire from heaven. Therefore Elijah must be God. Or how about this one? Only God has power over nature. Moses split the Red Sea. Therefore Moses must be God. Listen in to today’s episode to find out why this kind of argument doesn’t hold water as w...
2025-06-271h 40
Restitutio605. Does the Bible Really Give Jesus Divine Titles? (Brandon Duke)This is part 3 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics.
Today we get to the heart of the case for the deity of Christ to see if it holds up to scrutiny. In addition to considering whether the name “Jesus” and the title “son of God” implies divinity, we look at the 8 major texts in which the New Testament allegedly applies the title “God” to Jesus, including John 1.1, 18; 20.28; Romans 9.5; Hebrews 1.8; Titus 2.13; 2 Peter 1.1; and 1 John 5.20. In each we briefly explain why evangelicals take the passage to teach the deity of Christ and then show what it real...
2025-06-221h 48
Restitutio603. Did Jesus Really Receive Divine Honors? (Brandon Duke)This is part 1 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics.
Today we’re shifting gears. We’ve had an eighteen-episode class delving into biblical and contextual study of 1 Corinthians. Then last time we had an interview with someone struggling with mental health. For the next several weeks we’re going deep into Christology. This is going to be a five-part series of interviews with Brandon Duke reviewing an important book that came out last November defending the deity of Christ from a trinitarian perspective. In what follows Brandon and I discuss the arguments they m...
2025-06-061h 36
Restitutio602. Abused, Kidnapped, and Suicidal—Finding Hope After a Lifetime of Trauma (Sheila Kalpakidis)Suicide is such a sad part of our world today. The latest stats from the CDC indicate someone dies of suicide every eleven minutes in the United States. 30 times more people attempt suicide than die from it annually. And a staggering 12.8 million seriously think about it. Sheila is one of these people who has attempted it and seriously thinks about it from time to time. But, here’s the thing, she doesn’t want to. She’s not trying to attract attention or crying for help. She’s broken from an abusive childhood, bad relationships with men, and a conman w...
2025-05-301h 31
Restitutio601. 1 Corinthians in Context 18: Concluding ThoughtsWe’ll begin by reviewing what we’ve covered in this class before asking the question, “What happened after Paul sent 1 Corinthians?” Did the church receive his instruction? Did they reject it? How does 2 Corinthians fit in? We’ll take a look at the timeline to understand Paul’s three visits to Corinth and the three epistles he wrote them: 1 Corinthians, the severe letter (now lost), and 2 Corinthians. Then we’ll move through time to see how the church at Corinth continued to develop over the next one hundred years. Lastly, I’ll share some insights I’ve gained as I’ve come to ap...
2025-05-221h 09
Restitutio600. 1 Corinthians in Context 17: Eschatology and the AfterlifeWe’ll begin by surveying what 1 Corinthians tells us about the end times. Then we’ll consider why Paul spent so much time in chapter fifteen making a case for the resurrection of the saints when Christ returns. By examining tomb inscriptions and literary sources you’ll learn about the four major options for the afterlife in the Greco-Roman world: (1) non-existence, (2) ascension to the stars, (3) the Hades myth, and (4) reincarnation. My hope is you’ll come to see how radical and fresh the Judaeo-Christian idea of resurrection was to the people of Corinth and understand why Paul felt the need to...
2025-05-161h 08
Restitutio599. 1 Corinthians in Context 16: Love and Edification in the AssemblyToday we’re going to look at chapters 12, 13, and 14 of 1 Corinthians as a unit. We’ll see that the body analogy in 12, the love poem in 13, and the repeated concern for upbuilding in 14 are all slightly different angles of approach to the same goal. When the Corinthian Christians were getting together to worship, it was chaos. People were talking over each other, eager to manifest the holy spirit. Rather than telling them to cease from divine speech in the assembly, Paul instead focused their attention on the priority for being considerate of one another. Actually, he was way more radi...
2025-05-091h 03
Restitutio598 1 Corinthians in Context 15: Speaking in TonguesLast time we looked at how Greco-Roman people talked about inspired speech. Today we turn to 1 Corinthians and the book of Acts to focus on speaking in tongues. We’ll consider the idea that tongues are angelic languages, how tongues relates to prayer, and how tongues differs from ecstatic speech. Lastly, we’ll dip our toes into the debate over whether tongues ceased with the apostles or not. Whether you personally speak in tongues or not, I think you’ll find the information in this episode helpful.
Scriptures covered: 1 Corinthians 12:7, 10; 13:1, 8-12; 14:2, 4, 6, 11, 13-19, 27-28; Acts 2:1-11; 10:44-46; 11:15-17; 19:6-7...
2025-05-021h 09
Restitutio597 1 Corinthians in Context 14: Inspiration and Divine SpeechThis episode is a deep dive into the world of prophetic utterances, frenzied manifestations, divine possession, and all other sorts of inspired speech that I could find in Greco-Roman literature. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking I would find much. I was wrong. This episode is probably the longest of the entire 1 Corinthians in Context class. Still, I wanted to keep it as one episode so you get the full survey of what kinds of divine speech ancient Mediterranean people knew about. Then, after going through all the data, we turn our attention to 1 Corinthians 12-14 to see how Christian sp...
2025-04-261h 11
Restitutio596 1 Corinthians in Context 13: CommunionSo much was going on at the communion meal in Corinth. Some people were overdoing it, even getting drunk, while others went hungry. In order to better understand Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 11, we’ll take some time to consider how the Romans did meals. Then we’ll draw on archeological discoveries from Corinth to reconstruct what the meeting space would have been like for Christian gatherings. Lastly, we’ll see how strongly Paul rebuked their lack of unity and concern for those in need and see how he challenged them to think of the meal as a spiritual event wi...
2025-04-2150 min
Restitutio595 1 Corinthians in Context 12: WomenWhat was life like for women in the Roman empire? How did Christianity challenge cultural norms about the role of women? In today’s episode we’ll see what life was like for a range of women from wealthy single benefactors to athletes to freedwomen and slaves. We’ll focus our attention on the head-coverings passage in 1 Corinthians 11 and see why men were covering their heads and women were uncovering them. Lastly, we’ll work through the options for interpreting Paul’s instruction for women to remain silent during church services.
Scriptures Covered: 1 Corinthians 11:2-6, 10, 14-15; 14:34-36
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2025-04-1255 min
Restitutio594 1 Corinthians in Context 11: Money and Benefaction1 Corinthians 9 is a fascinating chapter. Paul masterfully lays out five arguments for why ministers should be paid for their work before telling the church of Corinth that he has chosen not to make use of this right and that he never would. Why not? What was it about the situation in Corinth that made Paul leery of taking their money? In order to get at this question we’ll consider how benefaction functioned in Greco-Roman cities. We’ll also consider two significant patronesses: Junia Theodora and Phoebe of Cenchreae. My hope is that this episode will open your eyes to s...
2025-04-0751 min
Restitutio593 1 Corinthians in Context 10: ChristologyWhat does 1 Corinthians tell us about Christ? After a brief survey of the main ideas about Christ in the epistle, we’ll turn our attention to understanding 1 Corinthians 8.6. This verse has been a lightning rod for speculating about Christ’s relationship to God. Scholars like N. T. Wright and Richard Bauckham have asserted that Paul identified Christ with God, whatever that means. Their idea is that Paul reworked the shema, the core creed of Judaism, in order to bring Christ into the “divine identity.” In this episode, I’ll critique that view and offer in its place a contextual reading th...
2025-03-2742 min
Restitutio592 1 Corinthians in Context 9: Food Sacrificed to IdolsAlthough often overlooked today, whether or not to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols was a major issue in first-century Christianity, especially in urban centers like Corinth. The city was teeming with temples, idols, and smaller shrines. Divinities abounded and devotees made offerings regularly from a little wine poured out at a home shrine to full animal sacrifices amid the pomp and circumstance of a city-funded celebration in the main forum. It’s hard for us to imagine the immense social pressure, especially on elite Christians, to attend state sacrifices, eat meals at temple dining rooms, and ac...
2025-03-201h 10
Restitutio591 1 Corinthians in Context 8: Marriage, Divorce, and RemmarriageThe Romans looked at families and marriage very differently than most of us do today. In this session we’ll cover arranged marriages, the double standard for adultery, and the new Roman Women who were breaking all the rules. This will put us in a good place to read chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians and see how Christian marriage, divorce, and remarriage differed from how the world lived. We’ll see that not only was Christian marriage incredibly honoring to wives, it also provided a better foundation on which to build intimacy and mutuality.
Scriptures Covered: 1 Corinthians 7:1-16
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2025-03-131h 02
Restitutio590 1 Corinthians in Context 7: LawsuitsHow should Christians deal with internal disputes? As with so many other issues, the Christians in Corinth were failing to distinguish between the body of Christ and the world. Today we’ll consider what Paul wrote in the first half of 1 Corinthians chapter six. In order to get a handle on his instructions to the church, we’ll consider the Roman legal system and how litigation worked. We’ll see that Paul wanted them to work out their grievances internally rather than going to court before unbelievers. However, does this mean that Christians should never go to court? Find out in...
2025-03-0745 min
Restitutio589 1 Corinthians in Context 6: Homosexuality & SinglenessSo often we default to categories of thought prevalent in our time and without realizing it, read them into the Bible. As it turns out, first-century people living in Corinth did not think about sexuality like we do at all. In today’s episode, I want to begin by focusing rather closely on 1 Corinthians 6.9, which mentions same-sex relationships. This verse has been at the center of major translation disagreements that have sometimes opened the door wide to committed same sex relationships and at other times closed the door so tightly that even celibate men get locked out merely for ex...
2025-02-2843 min
Restitutio588 1 Corinthians in Context 5: Sexual ImmoralityDo you know what blows my mind? That with all the permissiveness and sinfulness of the Roman world, what the Corinthian Christians were doing shocked Paul. He said that the sexual immorality of one man among them was so bad that such was not even found among the gentiles. That’s quite an indictment! Today we’re going to cover 1 Corinthians 5 and the second half of chapter 6. Both of these have to do with sexual immorality and, as such, today’s content is not appropriate for children. We’re going to cover the incident where a man was with his fath...
2025-02-2147 min
Restitutio587 1 Corinthians in Context 4: Philosophy & WisdomPaul wrote extensively about worldly wisdom in 1 Corinthians. Due to the prevalence and esteem of philosophical schools, Paul probably felt a need to explain how Christianity measured up. In this lecture we’ll survey the five main philosophical options available to first-century Corinthians, including Platonism, Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism and Stoicism. Then once we get a cursory grasp of how each of these worldly approaches worked, we’ll contrast them to Paul’s idea of spiritually discerned truths, which are available only to the mature in Christ.
Scriptures Covered: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-16; 3:1-4
Listen on Spotify
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2025-02-1350 min
Restitutio586 1 Corinthians in Context 3: Factions & Status at CorinthNow that we’ve familiarized ourselves with the city of Corinth and Paul’s missionary activity there, we’re ready to dive into 1 Corinthians. As I mentioned previously, my strategy for this class is to focus on the major themes rather than covering every verse. Our first theme is the issue of divisiveness among the Christians at Corinth, which spans the first four chapters of the letter. In this episode we’ll look at the factions in the church in light of two major contributing background forces: imperial celebrity culture and competition for status among Corinth’s elite. By situating...
2025-02-0649 min
Restitutio585 1 Corinthians in Context 2: Paul Founds the Church at CorinthHow did Christianity come to Corinth in the first place? Although many times we are left speculating about how an ancient church got started, we have definitive knowledge about the Corinthian church from Luke, Paul’s traveling companion. In what follows we’ll work through Acts chapter 18 to see how Paul initially founded the church in Corinth. We’ll also take time to consider what life was like for Paul as a tentmaker, how he broke from the synagogue, and how we date Paul’s time there using the Gallio inscription from Delphi.
Scriptures Covered: Acts 18.1-19; 1 Thessalo...
2025-01-3049 min
Restitutio584 1 Corinthians in Context 1: Corinth as the ContextToday we’re beginning something new. I’ve been working on this class on 1 Corinthians for months and months. I had taken classes on 1 Corinthians at Boston University twice. The first time we just read through the entire epistle in Greek. The second time was when we learned about what modern scholars said about Corinth. I’ve taught this epistle in the past both in a home bible study (in Rhode Island) and at the college level (in Georgia). Then, last April I had the opportunity to visit many ancient cities in both Turkey and Greece, including Corinth, which gave m...
2025-01-2346 min
Restitutio583 Not Alone Anymore (Vaughn Madsen)As we left things last time, Vaughn Madsen of New Zealand had been on a quest for biblical truth that resulted in repeated rejection from churches and Bible studies. Apart from his kids, Vaughn was alone. He met a couple of random people in street evangelism who agreed with him about Jesus, but that was it… for years. Even his wife, Sharon, didn’t agree with him. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t manage to convince her otherwise. He prayed and prayed. He waited. He was patient. Then in the last two years something changed. Today you’ll...
2025-01-1648 min
Restitutio582 Kiwi Farmer Pursues Biblical Truth (Vaughn Madsen)Vaughn Madsen was a simple kiwi farmer who subscribed to evangelical Christianity in New Zealand. No, he wasn’t farming kiwis. A kiwi is what you call someone from New Zealand. Anyhow, like I said, he was a devout member of his local church when he came across a presentation by Warren Prestige about the state of the dead. Although he had always believed his deceased loved ones were in heaven, this presentation provided extensive biblical evidence that the dead–both righteous and unrighteous–are asleep until the resurrection happens at the coming of Christ. Sometime later his brother prompt...
2025-01-1049 min
Restitutio581 Stand Strong in the Lord (Jerry Wierwille)Happy New Year everyone! Have you started to think about what you want to change in this coming year? Today we’re going to listen to a powerful message by Dr. Jerry Wierwille about standing strong in the Lord. The world is always pressing on us, squeezing us into its mold. How can we resist? What can we do? In this sermon Wierwille explains how putting on the armor of God will empower you to withstand the darts that come your way. Turning to God as your protector and refuge will help you stand strong today and throughout the co...
2025-01-0338 min
Restitutio580 An Honest Evaluation of the Evidence for the Deity of Christ (Sean Finnegan)Does the New Testament refer to Jesus as God? Though this is an important question, it’s only a starting point for wrestling with who Jesus is. In what follows we’ll consider the evidence from five scholars on what texts they say attribute deity to Christ. Then we’ll examine the biblical evidence that pulls in the opposite direction, suggesting that Jesus was not God. Lastly, we’ll examine five major possibilities for interpreting this data, including trinitarianism, modalism, Arianism, Greco-Roman polytheism, and biblical unitarianism.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
—— Links ——...
2024-12-2758 min
Restitutio578 Applying Old Testament YHWH Passages to Jesus (Jerry Wierwille)Have you ever noticed that the New Testament authors love to quote the Old Testament? This happens hundreds of times. Sometimes the quotation is direct, other times it is a paraphrase, still others a New Testament author will allude to the Old Testament. In today’s episode, we’re going to hear Dr. Jerry Wierwille explaining what Paul did in Romans 10.13 when he quoted Joel’s prophecy and applied it to Jesus.
Not only will this presentation help you to understand Romans 10.13 better, it will open your eyes to the various interpretive methods that first-century Jews used when q...
2024-12-1254 min
Restitutio577 Nothing Mere about a Man Made in the Image of God (Anna Brown)Has anyone ever said to you, “Oh, you believe Jesus is just a mere man.” How do you respond when someone says that? Do you just go along with it and say, “Yep, that’s what I believe–Jesus is just another guy”? I hope not.
Jesus is not just another guy. He’s the virginally-conceived son of God who lived righteously without sin, healed dozens (maybe hundreds) of people, preached tirelessly about the kingdom, taught the Bible and how to live, performed many miracles and exorcisms, voluntarily died for our sins as a perfect sacrifice. Then God raised him...
2024-12-051h 00
Restitutio576 Thank God (Sean Finnegan)Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Now I realize many of you are listening from other countries outside the USA, so you may not have this holiday where you live. That’s fine. Still, I do appreciate how we set aside a day each year in this country to practice gratitude. In what follows we’ll consider a great biblical example of thankfulness: Hannah. My hope is that by considering her amazing story, you will be inspired to give God thanks for your blessings. And this message about gratitude is relevant any day of the year.
Listen to this episode on S...
2024-11-2847 min
Restitutio574 Pursue Your Blessing (Sean Finnegan)It’s easy for complacency to set in our walk with God. It’s easy to settle into apathy with respect to spiritual growth. It’s easy to stop dreaming about what God can do in our lives. Today we’ll hear another message from Revive earlier this year–this one from yours truly. We’ll consider three examples of people who pursued blessing from God: Jabez, Rahab, and Jacob. This episode should nicely round out our four-part series on walking with God.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
—— Links ——
Get the transcript of th...
2024-11-1458 min
Restitutio560 Pentecost Reversing Babel (Sean Finnegan)Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, was a strange event. We read about unusual miraculous signs such as the sound of a great wind and tongues of fire. Still, the most interesting moment is when the apostles of our Lord began speaking in foreign languages that they didn't know. Such divine utterance is called speaking in tongues and everyone, it seems, has an opinion about it. But, have you ever asked yourself why?
God is launching the church to go into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Christ pours out the spirit to enable them...
2024-08-0900 min
Restitutio557 Bridging the Testaments (George Athas)Many believe there is 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament. My guest today is Professor George Athas, director of research and senior lecturer in Hebrew, Old Testament, and Early Church History at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He's the author of Bridging the Testaments, which covers four major periods, including Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Roman. By studying the four centuries before Christ you can gain key insights to help you understand both the Old and New Testaments. You will discover that God was still speaking all the while.
Listen to this episode on...
2024-07-1957 min
Restitutio556 Recruiting Ancients for the Creation Debate (Andrew Brown)Christians have approached the first chapter of Genesis differently over the centuries. There are those who hold to young earth creationism, day-age theory, gap theory, and progressive creationism, just to name a few. Oftentimes defenders of a particular view will provide biblical, scientific, and historical evidence for their position. Our focus today is on the use of church history to find witnesses for this or that view. Rather than cherry picking a quote here and quote there, it's better to read ancient Christians in their own context to be sure we are interpreting them correctly.
My guest t...
2024-07-1251 min
Restitutio555 Was Paul Really Subverting Caesar? (Clint Burnett)Scholars and pastors regularly point to specialized "technical" language in Paul's epistles to make the case that Paul was intentionally subverting Roman power by applying to Jesus terms that the ancients commonly applied to the Caesars. My guest today has done the hard work of analyzing the inscriptions, coins, and material remains of several key ancient cities to see how they talked about the Roman emperors in the New Testament period. In our conversation he shares his own journey to become an independent scholar as well as how his research offers a corrective to what many are saying about...
2024-07-041h 09
Restitutio554 Biblical Unitarian Christians in New Zealand (Zach Mayo)Something is going on in New Zealand...and I'm excited to tell you about it. In today's interview I speak with Zach Mayo who along with his wife, Kayla, were serving as youth pastors at an evangelical church when they came to change their minds on the doctrine of the Trinity. Now they're organizing a conference to unite one-God believers in New Zealand and invite folks from Australia and beyond to come.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
https://youtu.be/U27POf3dKnI
—— Links ——
To register for the upcoming...
2024-06-2850 min
Restitutio553 Pro Golfer Turned Christologist Tells All (Kermit Zarley)Kermit Zarley was a professional golfer who had an interest in studying the Bible about the end times when he came across a disturbing verse. Reading Jesus's words in the Olivet Discourse, he noticed that only the Father knew the day and hour of the end. Neither the angels nor the son of God were privy to it. As a good trinitarian evangelical, Zarley was familiar with the dual natures idea, but just couldn't square that with the scripture. If Jesus was God in his being, he knew everything. Why did he say he didn't know the time of...
2024-06-201h 16
Restitutio552 Seminary Convinced Me the Trinity Is Wrong (Susanne Lakin)From her childhood in a Jewish family to a 7-year stint with the Jehovah's Witnesses to attending evangelical churches, Susanne Lakin never felt comfortable with the doctrine of the Trinity. She signed up to attend Phoenix Seminary, a conservative evangelical school, thinking they would help her finally get to the bottom of it. She was willing to agree to the idea, thinking, surely, studying with scholars like Wayne Grudem, the prince of evangelical systematic theology, would answer her questions and settle the issue for her once and for all. Amazingly, the opposite happened. This is her story.
...
2024-06-141h 06
Restitutio540 Dustin Smith’s Take on the Tuggy-White DebateAs the dust continues to settle from last week's debate between Dale Tuggy and James White, reviewers are coalescing on a rather exciting conclusion. Tuggy handedly won the debate! Rumor has it that James White has even requested a rematch! We'll have to wait and see if anything happens on that front, but requesting a rematch is not something the winner typically does.
In today's episode, I bring on Dr. Dustin Smith of the biblical unitarian podcast to respond to James White's arguments, not only in his opening statement, but also in his rebuttal, cross-examination time, and...
2024-03-221h 36
Restitutio531 Read the Bible for Yourself 1: Why Should You Read the Bible for Yourself?This is part 1 of the Read the Bible For Yourself.
Today we are beginning a new class called Read the Bible for Yourself. Whether you are new to scripture, or you’ve been reading it for years, this class will empower you to read and understand the bible like never before. You’ll gain key insights into the context, content, and application of scripture so you can take your reading and understanding to the next level.Today I want to begin with the question, "Why should you read the bible for yourself?" Why is this book even wort...
2024-01-1936 min
Restitutio530 God’s Heart for ShalomAlthough most often defined as "peace," the Hebrew word "shalom" is much bigger than that. It refers to not only the absence of war, but also the presence of wholeness and safety. In this sermon you'll gain a better understanding of this important biblical word as well as what God's heart is for shalom in the world and in your life. At times we all go through periods of crisis in which we lose our shalom, but thankfully we can return to God over and over and he can cause his face to shine upon us and give us...
2024-01-1142 min
Restitutio521 The Deity of Christ from a Greco-Roman Perspective (Sean Finnegan)Let’s face it the New Testament probably calls Jesus God (or god) a couple of times and so do early Christian authors in the second century. However, no one offers much of an explanation for what they mean by the title. Did early Christians think Jesus was God because he represented Yahweh? Did they think he was God because he shared the same eternal being as the Father? Did they think he was a god because that’s just what they would call any immortalized human who lived in heaven? In this presentation I focus on the question from...
2023-11-0956 min
Restitutio516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity in the first and second centuries. We talked about the Jerusalem church, the Nazarenes, and the Ebionites. Next we considered the persecution many Christians faced at the hands of the Romans for their unwillingness to give their ultimate allegiance to Caesar. The...
2023-10-061h 50
Restitutio510 Hospitality Evangelism (Sean Finnegan)Do you struggle with evangelism? Do you feel like you should tell others about the gospel and yet, you can't seem to find a way to do that? If so, then this episode is for you. Part of our aim here at Restitutio is not just exploring the bible and church history to recover authentic Christianity, but also figuring out how to live your faith today. This means we sometimes have practical episodes. In this presentation, you'll learn about hospitality evangelism. The idea is simple: invite neighbors or coworkers over for dinner. Rosaria Butterfield put it this way: make...
2023-08-2450 min
Restitutio472 Why I (Still) Don’t Believe in Evolution (Sean Finnegan)I’d like to take an opportunity to interrupt this Scripture and Science class. We’ve just done three episodes on evolution. The first one covered the basics of what evolution is. Our second teaching evolution covered biblical problems and the third surveyed some scientific problems. Then Will interviewed Sam about his beliefs in both Christianity and evolution. I figured we’d just leave it there and move on to hear what Will had to say about geology. But after seeing various comments coming in, I decided it would be good to interject some of my own thoughts both defend...
2022-12-0237 min
Restitutio456 Why Christianity Is Awesome (Sean Finnegan)Why is Christianity awesome? Answering this question is a good exercise for us. So often we hear about why Christianity is terrible, especially in the eyes of the world. Many of these critiques are important and we should be humble enough to listen to problems, both real and perceived. However, my goal today is to focus on the positive. I'd like to spend some time just thinking about the goodness of our faith. I hope you will find it encouraging.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
—— Notes ——
Christianity makes sense of reali...
2022-08-1243 min
Restitutio455 Is God on the Throne in Your Heart? (Sean Finnegan)A couple of weeks ago I got to speak at the Church of God's annual youth camp at Manchester University in rural Indiana. The week focused on all the different passions that we too easily allow to take God's spot in our hearts. Timypaul Lupe gave the message before mine in which he urged the listeners to smash their idols, demonstrating this by taking out a sledge hammer and breaking a jar on stage. My goal for this sermon was to encourage the audience to put God on the throne in their hearts. This is not something done once...
2022-08-0528 min
Restitutio454 Amazing Grace (Sean Finnegan)Last Sunday, I shared this message about God's amazing grace. Instead of focusing on how gracious, merciful, and forgiving God is, I labored to explain why we don't deserve God's grace. I've observed this not only in my own journey, but also with many others who grow up in the church. We hear a thousand times how much God loves us and forgives us, but we easily overlook his wrath and holiness. God's grace is not amazing at all but an entitlement if you don't know in your bones that you deserve his wrath. In what follows I draw...
2022-07-2947 min
Restitutio447 God Is Compassionate (Sean Finnegan)Power and kindness rarely go together. I don't know about you, but I'm so thankful the most powerful being in the universe is also exceedingly compassionate! In fact, when he revealed himself to Moses, compassion was the first attribute he declared about himself. We see the outworking of God's compassion in the laws he provided Israel in the Torah, especially the provisions he made for those who were vulnerable or suffering. These serve as examples for how we should think about those in difficult life circumstances. Scripture calls us to imitate our Father as dear children. Let's be a...
2022-06-111h 04
Restitutio428 Looking for the Historical Jesus between Evangelical and Liberal Scholarship (Sean Finnegan)Did you know that scholars who work on Jesus divide starkly into two major camps? On the one hand, the evangelicals do such great work on the existence of God, the historicity of the resurrection, and the reliability of Scripture. But, then they read the Gospels through the filter of their theological commitments, always coming away with a Jesus that looks suspiciously like the second person of the Trinity. On the other hand, liberal scholars tend to get the message of Jesus about the kingdom right, but then due to their anti-supernatural presuppositions, deny the resurrection and end up...
2022-01-2856 min
Restitutio427 Why Did Jesus Die? Exploring Atonement Theories (Sean Finnegan)Why did Jesus die? Why couldn't God just forgive all our sins? How did Jesus' death pay for sin? How can someone else die for my sins? Questions like these are what atonement theories strive to answer. Throughout the history of Christianity a half dozen prominent theories have vied for adherents. In what follows I begin by surveying what the bible says about atonement before moving to briefly cover seven atonement theories. I originally released this presentation as two separate talks a while back (Theology 17 and Theology 18), but due to continued interest and inquires about this subject, I thought...
2022-01-2159 min
Restitutio426 The Father Is Greater Than I: Exploring Biblical Subordination (Sean Finnegan)Is the Son equal with the Father or is he subordinate? Thinking Christians have struggled over the tension between the traditional doctrine of coequality between Father and Son, on the one hand, and the dozens upon dozens of scriptures that either imply our explicitly teach the Father's supremacy over his Son. Two ways of solving this problem include the idea of the economic Trinity and eternal functional subordination. In what follows I overview the biblical evidence for the Son's subordination to the Father before critiquing both of these reigning trinitarian solutions to the problem. Last of all, I consider...
2022-01-1455 min
Restitutio389 Why Christianity 2: Lay of the Land (Sean Finnegan)Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
This is part 2 of the Why Christianity class.
It’s so easy to universalize our own local context. For example, I (Sean) live in a secular, post-Catholic part of New York state. It would be easy for me to think that most of the state or country or world is just like my area. However, this ethnocentric perspective will not do justice to the data we have about Christians in the world today. Sociologists have long held to the “secularization thesis”–the idea that world religions die out as s...
2021-04-2934 min
Pepin z Hané151 God of Wonder (Sean Finnegan)Do you ever stop and marvel at God’s creation? Are you in wonder at what he has made? Too often we take God’s masterful creations for granted, instead of seeing them as pointers back to God’s ingenuity, generosity, and artistry. Although we can’t always take time out to praise God for plums, palm trees, and panthers, when we can it’s helpful to meditate on his handiwork.
Here’s the video from this message that shows the relative sizes of our solar system’s planets and sun with other much bigger stars:
Here are a couple of praise songs t...
2018-10-1242 min
Restitutio151 God of Wonder (Sean Finnegan)Do you ever stop and marvel at God’s creation? Are you in wonder at what he has made? Too often we take God’s masterful creations for granted, instead of seeing them as pointers back to God’s ingenuity, generosity, and artistry. Although we can’t always take time out to praise God for plums, palm trees, and panthers, when we can it’s helpful to meditate on his handiwork.
Here’s the video from this message that shows the relative sizes of our solar system’s planets and sun with other much bigger stars:
Here are a coup...
2018-10-1242 minPepin z Hané112 God’s Not Done with You Yet (Sean Finnegan)We all get beaten down in life. Whether it’s catastrophes like hurricanes, shootings, or economic meltdowns, or just dealing with the day to day demands and responsibilities of life, we all go through periods of dryness, feeling like we aren’t making a difference. This is where Elijah’s example is particularly pertinent. Having reached the peak of his influence and achieved a mighty victory over the prophets of Baal and Ashera, Elijah still found himself on the run from the government, hunted like an animal. In the deepest time of despair and discouragement, we encounter a message that can he...
2017-10-0657 min
Restitutio112 God’s Not Done with You Yet (Sean Finnegan)We all get beaten down in life. Whether it’s catastrophes like hurricanes, shootings, or economic meltdowns, or just dealing with the day to day demands and responsibilities of life, we all go through periods of dryness, feeling like we aren’t making a difference. This is where Elijah’s example is particularly pertinent. Having reached the peak of his influence and achieved a mighty victory over the prophets of Baal and Ashera, Elijah still found himself on the run from the government, hunted like an animal. In the deepest time of despair and discouragement, we encounter a message that c...
2017-10-0657 min
RestitutioPodcast 44: The Immutable Shema (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
The Shema has been the core creed of Judaism from the time of Moses to today. It stands as an immovable witness to God’s identity as well as our proper relation to him. Even though Jesus confessed the Shema, most Christians today aren’t familiar with it. This is because after the New Testament age, under the influence of Greek philosophy Christian thinking metastasized into Trinitarian dogma, scorning its native Hebrew context in the process. Eventually, “Yahweh” became “Lord” and “one” became “three in one” and the church became estranged from the bible’s legacy of unitarianism. ...
2016-08-1246 min
RestitutioPodcast 42: My Testimony (Sean Finnegan)Last week I attended a youth camp in Indiana called FUEL. They assigned me the text on the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). As I pondered and prayed how I should approach this powerful parable, I sensed God wanted me to interweave my own story in with the prodigal. As a result, I decided to share my testimony in an honest and raw way. The next day, John Guthrie wrote this summary, which I felt well-encapsulated my message:
Pastor Sean Finnegan used the Parable of the Prodigal Son as a jumping off point to tell his personal “prodigal son story...
2016-07-2936 min
RestitutioPodcast 23: Let Us Make Man (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
In Genesis 1.26, God says, “Let us make man in our image.” Since this is the creation of humanity, he couldn’t have been speaking to any humans. So whom was God speaking to? One common interpretation is to say he was speaking to another person within his being–God the Son. But, this is quite a strange idea. Honestly, it sounds like a multiple personality disorder. In any other literature, when we encounter the word “us” we know it means the speaker and whomever he or she is speaking to. Why do we suddenly, go into theology la...
2016-03-1944 min
RestitutioPodcast 19: Death Then What? (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
What happens when people die? In this sermon I mention show the biblical “evidence” for heaven, hell, purgatory, ghosts, and reincarnation before revealing the overwhelming number of texts supporting the sleep of the dead. Focusing on John’s Gospel, I establish that (1) the dead are in their tombs asleep until they hear Christ’s voice to awaken in resurrection, (2) that resurrection will not occur until the last day, (3) that Jesus called Lazarus “asleep” when he was really talking about him being dead, and (4) that Mary was looking for Jesus not merely his body when she discovered...
2016-02-1946 min
RestitutioPodcast 17: Follow (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
According to Jesus no one should call him “Lord” if he or she does not do what he says. In other words, Christ says he wants followers not merely believers. Although hippie Jesus, one-and-done Jesus, American Jesus, prosperity Jesus, poverty Jesus, and part-time Jesus all vie for all attention, we encounter the real Jesus in the Gospels, which have confidence in today because of the massive number of manuscripts that have survived from antiquity. Following Jesus has massive benefits as well, including eternal life, forgiveness of sins, life transformation, and ultimate meaning for your life. ...
2016-02-0544 min
RestitutioPodcast 13: What’s Your Script? (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
According to Hebrew bible expert, Walter Bruegemann, all of us live by a script. He contends that our society is constantly scripting us with technological, therapeutic, consumer militarism. In the words of the Apostle Paul, we must fight this tendency by refusing to conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The gospel message itself offers us a whole new script. It’s hopeful rather than pessimistic, motivated by love rather than fear, characterized by abundance rather than scarcity, provides us an anchor to weather the storms of this life...
2016-01-0846 min
RestitutioPodcast 11: Wrestling against Spiritual Forces (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
Ephesians 6.12 tells us our struggle is not really against other humans but against spiritual forces. Learn how malignant powers influence people both directly (through demon possession) and indirectly (through the culture). Hopefully, this message will open your eyes to what is happening behind the scenes as Satan works to keep people from believing the gospel message as well as take out those who already follow Christ. At the end, I offer 7 specific examples of how the devil gains a foothold in our lives. Even so, through the power of God we are able to shut...
2015-12-2550 min
RestitutioPodcast 9: God and Jesus: An Overview (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
What’s the difference between God and Jesus. Many Christians believe they are mysteriously one in being, but what do the scriptures teach? It turns out the bible clearly distinguishes between these two individuals and their attributes preclude their metaphysical oneness. Listen in to hear the evidence for why Jesus is the son of God not God the son.
This lecture was part of a class called “Exploring Scripture.” To access more of this class, Exploring Scripture Class.
Who is God?
The people meet their God (Deuteronomy 4.32-39; 5.1-10, 22-26)
The S...
2015-12-1148 min
RestitutioPodcast 7: The Secret Messiah & the Triumphal Entry (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
Why did Jesus so often tell people to be quiet when they discovered he was the messiah? Christianity is all about telling the world this truth. In fact, Jesus’ last words–the Great Commission–include the mandate to spread the gospel around the world. So, why was it that in his own ministry he was so reticent about who he was? Was it because of humility or did he have another reason? Listen to this message to find out about the messianic secret and the glorious moment when Jesus publicly announced his messianic claim during his...
2015-11-2738 min
RestitutioPodcast 5: Miracles & Messiahs: How Jesus Best Fits Prophecy (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
Why do we believe that Jesus is the Jewish messiah? What is our evidence? Taking a look at contemporary miracle workers like Honi the Circle Drawer and Hanina ben Dosa, Jesus of Nazareth stands out as an exceptional healer and exorcist. Taking our cue from ancient Jewish interpretations of Isaiah 53, we can see how Jesus of Nazareth best fits the prophesied suffering servant. These two lines of inquiry intertwine in the historical Jesus to produce a compelling case that he really is the long-awaited Jewish messiah.
Miracles
Isaiah 35: The prophet envi...
2015-11-1351 min
RestitutioPodcast 3: Between the Testaments (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
Have you ever wondered what happened between the Old Testament and the New Testament? When the Old Testament closes the people have returned to their land after the 70 year captivity and are living under the Persian empire, though they have significant freedoms, including the right to worship God in the rebuilt temple. However, when we begin reading the New Testament, the whole scene is different. Now the Romans are in power and we encounter these new religious groups likes Sadducees and Pharisees. Where did they come from? What happened in between? Though you might assume...
2015-10-3055 min
RestitutioPodcast 1: Keys to a Meaningful Life (Sean Finnegan)by Sean Finnegan
What is the meaning of life? What is the reason to live? Why are you here? What are you living for? In what ways does your life make a difference? How do you lead a meaningful life? Listen to this message to discover not only what happiness experts says, but, more importantly, what Jesus’ purpose statements were and how that can affect your purpose today.
Rick Warren’s Three Levels of Living
survival
success
significance
Martin Seligman’s Three Levels of Happiness
pleasant life
good life
meaningful ilfe
Both pu...
2015-10-2552 min