There has been some concern that Justin and Collin have been kept out of the “very special guest” designation. In order to make up for past offenses, this episode, with two very special guests, is being hailed as a very special episode. The three amigos start out by talking about football (of course) and a new cultural openness to Christianity. Then they turn their attention to New Year’s resolutions (which they all have) and books on time management and productivity (which Justin and Collin do not read). The episode finishes with a sweet conversation about their wives and lessons learned over the decades of marriage.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

4:15 Football, Culture, and Spirituality

15:26 Goals, Habits, and Productivity

40:07 Sponsor Break

42:02 Marriage, That Blessed Arrangement

1:04:46 Books on Marriage

1:08:29 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church

Serious Joy Conference

The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work

WTS | Master of Arts in Theological Studies

The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports

Rules of Life (Justin Taylor)

Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make

Mystery of Marriage

The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God

When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage

Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace

Gospel-Shaped Marriage: Grace for Sinners to Love Like Saints

This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence

How can you shine as a Christian in the world of professional sports—when sometimes your dreams come true and often they don’t? What does it take to be an elite athlete (and why is it a great profession for sleep enthusiasts)? You’ll want to listen to this special episode of LBE as Kevin asks Andre, a former NFL player, and Sydney—an Olympic champion, world champion, and world record holder—about the pressure of being the best and the freedom of being in Christ. And don’t miss the bonus questions from a couple DeYoung children.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

3:38 What did it feel like?

7:11 A Question From a Fan

8:49 Olympic Relationships

11:05 Life as a Professional Athlete

16:31 How Did You Two Meet?

20:40 Another Fan Question

22:06 Life and Testimony

32:29 Fifty Seconds

35:57 The Lifestyle of an Elite Athlete

40:08 Sponsor Break 41:55 Fame and Faith

47:45 Nature vs. Nurture

58:46 What’s Coming Up?

1:01:10 Book Recommendations

1:03:26 A Message to Christian Women

1:05:51 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

ESV Daily Reading Bible: A Guided Journey Through God's Word

Serious Joy Conference

The Pastor: His Call, Character, and Work

WTS | Master of Arts in Theological Studies

What Is the Gospel?

What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission

We’ve all been waiting, and it’s finally here: the annual Christmas LBE. Listen in as the three amigos talk about Christmas movies, favorite books, which LBE member is the most like Jerry Seinfeld, and, of course, the airing of many grievances.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

5:50 The Vibe Shift

20:10 Let’s Talk About Christmas

30:02 Sponsor Break

31:20 The Airing of Grievances

49:27 Books & Everything

55:22 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

How to Memorize Scripture for Life: From One Verse to Entire Books

Desiring God | Great Joy

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology

Christopher Ash on the Psalms

The Beechers: America's Most Influential Family

Swing Low, volume 1: A History of Black Christianity in the United States

Letters of John Calvin

Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold

Pastoral Theology

Mission is one of those words that Christians use all the time. So are words like “missions” and missionaries.” But what do they mean? Is “mission” even the best word to use to describe what Christians should be doing in the world? In today’s episode, Kevin talks with fellow Michigander, Brian DeVries, about his new book You Will Be My Witnesses. Brian has led church planting teams in South Africa and currently serves as a pastor and a seminary president in South Africa. He’s written an insightful and helpful book calling church and Christians to be witnesses for Christ in speaking, in living, in defending the faith, in working for church growth, and in suffering well.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors

1:51 Introductions

11:29 The Book and the Mission of the Church

25:19 The Concept of Witness

32:15 Five Witness Themes

39:17 Sponsor Break

41:00 On Evangelizing

52:35 The Church As Hospital, Temple, Embassy, School, and Fortress

58:07 Stop DoingThis, Start Doing That

Books & Everything:

In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions Through the Psalms

Desiring God | Great Joy

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

You Will Be My Witnesses: Theology for God's Church Serving in God's Mission

It is hard to exaggerate the influence of Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987) in conservative Reformed circles over the past hundred years. And yet, there continues to be much discussion about what Van Til believed and how he meant for his apologetic ideas to be put into practice. Kevin welcomes Keith Mathison, from Reformation Bible College, to discuss his new book Toward a Reformed Apologetics: A Critique of the Thought of Cornelius Van Til (Mentor). Also joining Kevin is James Anderson, a leading Van Tilian philosopher and a fellow RTS Charlotte colleague. In this stimulating conversation, Kevin talks to Keith and James about what Van Til got right, where he made some mistakes, and whether Van Tilians and non-Van Tilians are all that different when it comes to defending the faith in practice.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

4:50 Who was Van Til?

15:26 Van Til’s Theology

25:38 The Absolute Antithesis

40:00 Van Til’s Chief Epistemological Insight

53:03 Sponsor Break

54:41 The Question of Either/Or

59:33 Van Til’s view of the Trinity

1:18:06 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

ESV Teen Study Bible

Desiring God | Great Joy

Coram Deo Pastors Workshop

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Toward a Reformed Apologetics: A Critique of the Thought of Cornelius Van Til

Recently, Steve Nichols spoke at the Faithful Conference, an annual conference for Christ Covenant Church. After giving a lecture on R.C. Sproul, Steve sat down with Kevin to talk about his own life and what he learned writing the biography of Sproul. Listen in as Kevin asks Steve about Sproul’s influences, his strengths and weaknesses, his friendships, and what made him such a uniquely gifted and inspiring teacher.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

3:30 On Being From Pittsburgh

5:56 Tell Us About Your Family

7:27 From Pennsylvania to Florida

15:00 The Life and Ministry of R.C.

26:20 Sponsor Break

27:37 The Human Side of R.C.

33:53 What Would He Have Said?

44:14 Preaching Influences

Books & Everything:

The Biggest Story Family Devotional

Desiring God | The Great Eight

Coram Deo Pastors Workshop

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Most Christians in conservative churches are familiar with Paul Tripp’s books. He’s one of the most popular authors in the church today, with a knack for applying the gospel to all of life. His devotional New Morning Mercies has been a consistent bestseller. Now Tripp has a new devotional, Everyday Gospel, that serves as a gospel commentary on the text of Scripture itself. Listen in as Kevin asks Paul about his writing process, his favorite books, and why he does what he does. Along the way, you’ll hear a few dramatic stories from Paul’s life and get his gospel encouragement for pastors and their congregations.

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors

1:53 Welcome, Paul

4:34 On Mustaches and Painting

11:55 Everyday Gospel

41:30 Sponsor Break

43:10 Life & Ministry

1:07:02 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology

Desiring God | The Great Eight

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

A few months ago, a prominent American scholar, Matthew Avery Sutton, published an article arguing there is no “through line” from Christians of the past to today’s post-WWII evangelicals. In order to assess this argument, Kevin invited two scholars of the evangelical movement to join him: Andrew Atherstone from Oxford in England and David Ceri Jones from the University of Aberystwyth in Wales. Together, they explore where the term evangelical comes from, whether the thing we call “evangelicalism” is a recent invention, why people call themselves “evangelical,” the difference between Stott and Lloyd-Jones, the difference between evangelicalism in America, in England, and in Wales, and whether the word “evangelical” is worth retaining. Plus, you’ll hear Kevin’s fantastic idea for Andrew to adopt the slogan “Make Oxford Great Again.”

Chapters:

0:00 intro & Sponsors

4:00 Evangelical Identity

17:45 The Through-line to Evangelicalism

26:42 Evangelicalism Abroad

53:15 The Balancing Act

1:01:43 What is an Evangelical?

1:03:27 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany

Here We Stand

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right

Making Evangelical History

In his new book To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse, Carl Trueman argues that “Critical theory [sees] any notion of human nature as merely an ideological or social construct, a function of discourses of power.” Even though critical theory makes for dense reading, and is probably very little read by people in the pew, the ideas and assumptions of critical theory have shaped our world in undeniable ways. Listen in as Kevin and Carl talk about what critical theory is, where it came from, and how the church can provide a better, truer, and more beautiful alternative.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

4:48 What Kind of Historian Are You?

9:03 Why Talk About These Things?

24:23 The Critical Question

46:04 Sponsor Break

47:46 How Do These Ideas Shape Christians?

1:02:43 Closing Questions

1:13:18 Until Next Time….

Books & Everything:

ESV Men's Study Bible

Here We Stand

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse

From Frankfurt to Fox: The Strange Career of Critical Theory

It’s not everyday you get to hear from the world’s expert on the Westminster Assembly (and who among us does not wish to know more about the Westminster Assembly?!). So sit back and enjoy this freewheeling conversation as Kevin and Chad talk about a guy named John Arrowsmith, the importance of pastoral hospitality, issues of church and state, and how Chad’s profession of faith split his childhood church. Lots of nerdy Presbyterian talk with the occasional mention of hot dogs as well.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

5:38 A Southerner From the North

8:23 Tell Us About Your Faith

16:58 The Westminster Assembly

32:05 Sponsor Break

33:42 Tell Us About John Arrowsmith

1:02:42 The Neglected Practice of Hospitality

1:13:55 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

Crossway Plus

Here We Stand

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith

Plans for Holy War: How the Spiritual Soldier Fights, Conquers, and Triumphs

Listen as the two friends talk about the Land of Lincoln, about influential books and authors in their lives, and how the importance of friendship. You’ll get to learn more about Jason’s background, more about why he loves the PCA, and you’ll get to hear his great laugh.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

7:41 Hip-hop-Helopoulos

10:32 Administration and Leadership in Pastoral Ministry

26:16 More About Jason

40:10 On the PCA

45:38 Band of Brothers

54:18 Sponsor Break

56:08 Lessons From Ministry

1:05:22 Books

1:11:47 Personal Updates

1:15:41 Who is Laughing at Who?

1:19:41 How Many Wins for Da Bears?

1:20:32 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Crossway Plus

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Persistent Prayer (Blessings of the Faith)

Covenantal Baptism (Blessings of the Faith)

Expository Preaching (Blessings of the Faith)

Reformed Worship (Blessings of the Faith)

Reformed Theology (Blessings of the Faith)

Church Membership (Blessings of the Faith)

The New Pastor's Handbook: Help and Encouragement for the First Years of Ministry

The Preacher's Portrait: Five new Testament Word Studies

The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family

An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office