The Whole Counsel

The Altogether Lovely One II: He is not the Problem. We Are.

See Jordan’s study, Christ Our Treasure: Enjoying the Preeminence of Jesus in the Local Church - https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/jordan-thomas
This week we continue our series with Jordan Thomas discussing the greatest treasure of the Christian life. If our eyes are fixed on anything other than Christ, we are looking in a fatal direction. While this sounds very noble and spiritual, it is essential. But just because it is essential does not mean it is easy. In fact, it is one of the hardest things for an individual Christian, a faithful family, and a careful church to do consistently. Dr. John Snyder and Jordan Thomas share some encouragements and examples of how we are to do this in our everyday lives. Perhaps the greatest example given to us is the Apostle Paul. There are multiple instances through his letters where he breaks out in worshipful doxologies in the middle of a logical argument. And this reality isn’t reserved for Paul because he was a “superChristian.” This is meant to be the experience of every Christian. If we want to pursue holiness, if we want to fix our churches, if we want to prioritize evangelism and missions, the driving force must be a fixation and obsession with the person of Jesus Christ. Nothing else has the power to move us and the fuel to make us fight the temptation of looking elsewhere. Another major point John and Jordan tackle is the idea of Jesus being boring. Why do so many find Jesus unattractive and not worth following? Is there something wrong with Jesus? Any Christian can answer that with a resounding “NO.” But how often do we find ourselves bored in our praying to him, reading of him, studying his Word? How do we fight the battle and warm our hearts by the beautiful reality of who he is? By gazing more and more at him. If we find Jesus boring, the problem is not with him. It is in us.
Show Notes:
See Jordan’s study here: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/jordan-thomas
See Jordan’s study, Christ Our Treasure: Enjoying the Preeminence of Jesus in the Local Church - https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/jordan-thomas
Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts
You can get The Whole Counsel a day early on the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

SPECIAL: 2024 Ministry Report

We are incredibly thankful for each of you that follow our podcasts, participate in our studies, and support our work. We could not do this work without you.
As we are looking to finish 2024 and prepare for 2025, we wanted to take a few minutes to let you know what your support helped us achieve over the last 12 months.
To see the full 2024 Ministry Report from Media Gratiae, visit www.report.mediagratiae.org

The Altogether Lovely One I: Keeping the Focus

https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/christ-our-treasure
Those of you who have followed Media Gratiae for a time will know Jordan Thomas. He is a contributor to both Behold Your God studies and has a study of his own produced by Media Gratiae. Released earlier this year, Christ Our Treasure: Enjoying the Preeminence of Jesus in the Local Church, is an 8-week study examining how the local church body is to enjoy and treasure our Savior. In this new series of episodes, Dr. John Snyder and Jordan discuss not just the development of the study, but the heart behind it. Churches choose many things to focus on. It may be mercy ministries, confessional statements, clarity of doctrine, etc. All these are good and worthwhile, but Scripture makes it clear that only one thing is ultimately needful - a clear, consistent, persistent, undistracted view of Christ. Everything else will fall into place if we truly seek first the kingdom of God. Confessional statements are wonderful tools (and we at Media Gratiae use them), but we must not allow them to take preeminence in our hearts. And notice the plural use of “our” hearts. The commands to treasure Christ are not just given to individual Christians. They are given to bodies of Christians. We cannot truly obey Christ without the element of the local expression of his bride. We hope this episode is a blessing to you, and we will see you next week when John and Jordan continue their discussion.
https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/christ-our-treasure

2024 Book Recommendations

One of our favorite episodes to record every year is our annual book recommendations. This year, Dr. John Snyder and Acey Floyd agreed to a three-book limit. If you have ever watched one of our book recommendation episodes before, you will not be surprised to learn they both cheated (but only slightly).
Rather than creating a long list of links in the show description this year, we will just have one link. It will take you to our Media Gratiae blog where all the books are listed, along with links where you can purchase them.
Our prayer for these book recommendation episodes is that you may consider buying them for yourself if you have never read them and that they may challenge and bless you in 2025 as they have us in 2024. If you have read them before, consider gifting them to loved ones so their hearts may be drawn nearer to Christ.
List of books and links:
https://www.mediagratiae.org/blog/2024-book-recommendations
Show Notes:
*Growing in Christ was written as a book and is not a collection of sermons.

True-Hearted Disciple II: Where Authentic Discipleship Begins

https://www.mediagratiae.org/true-hearted-discipleship
Last week Dr. John Snyder introduced you to our newest study, The Nature and Practice of True-Hearted Discipleship. The eight-week study is written and taught by Dr. Ian Hamilton. As a further introduction to the study, we wanted to give you a preview of the video sessions. So this week we present to you session one, Where Authentic Discipleship Begins. The full study will officially launch November 15.
In the 8 workbook lessons and accompanying video sermons, Dr. Ian Hamilton seeks to guide you back to Scripture in order to examine what Jesus has to say about what it means to be His follower. The life of a disciple begins with a radically transformative new birth, and from that birth flows a life of following Jesus in obedience.
Embracing all that Jesus says about discipleship will cost you everything, but as you unequivocally surrender your life to Him, you will truly find it.
If you would like more information about the study or to order it, visit https://www.mediagratiae.org/true-hearted-discipleship
Endorsements for The Nature and Practice of True-Hearted Discipleship:
“What does it mean to be an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ? The Bible gives us clear answers to this question, but many have not considered its teaching carefully and systematically. In this valuable little book, Ian Hamilton helps us walk step-by-step through the teaching of scripture. Each lesson is brief and interactive, with examples and application seamlessly interwoven throughout. I highly commend this study for individuals and families. It gives Bible answers to some of the most foundational spiritual questions.”
Jonathan Master, President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
"In this deeply encouraging and timely study on the nature of Christian discipleship, Dr. Hamilton shows believers that following Jesus is not merely a way of words, but a way of life. He challenges God’s people to beware of superficial forms of spirituality, and reminds us that biblical discipleship is Christ-centered, countercultural, and costly. Perfect for individual and group studies, I cannot recommend this volume highly enough."
Dr. Jon Payne, Senior Minister of Christ Church. PCA, Charleston
Show Notes:
Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts
You can get The Whole Counsel a day early on the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

True-Hearted Disciple I: Interview with Dr. Ian Hamilton

https://www.mediagratiae.org/true-hearted-discipleship
Behind the scenes at Media Gratiae we have been busily working on our next study, The Nature and Practice of True-Hearted Discipleship by Ian Hamilton. This eight-week study focuses on a topic near and dear to Dr. Hamilton’s heart. The study will be available for purchase on November 15, but we wanted to give you a bit of the heart behind the content. To that end, Dr. John Snyder has a conversation with Dr. Hamilton about the study, why he chose the topic, and why it is so important for today’s church.
Next week we will give you session one of the study so you can see a bit of it for yourself. If you want more information visit https://www.mediagratiae.org/true-hearted-discipleship
Some words about The Nature and Practice of True-Hearted Discipleship
“What does it mean to be an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ? The Bible gives us clear answers to this question, but many have not considered its teaching carefully and systematically. In this valuable little book, Ian Hamilton helps us walk step-by-step through the teaching of scripture. Each lesson is brief and interactive, with examples and application seamlessly interwoven throughout. I highly commend this study for individuals and families. It gives Bible answers to some of the most foundational spiritual questions.”
Jonathan Master, President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
"In this deeply encouraging and timely study on the nature of Christian discipleship, Dr. Hamilton shows believers that following Jesus is not merely a way of words, but a way of life. He challenges God’s people to beware of superficial forms of spirituality, and reminds us that biblical discipleship is Christ-centered, countercultural, and costly. Perfect for individual and group studies, I cannot recommend this volume highly enough."
Dr. Jon Payne, Senior Minister of Christ Church. PCA, Charleston

Reformation Day Special Episode: The Church Bible Study Session

This year our podcast happens to be published on Reformation Day, October 31. We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and present to you a special episode commemorating the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to Wittenburg Castle Church. To do so, we are presenting to you Session 9 from our study, The Church: Her Nature, Authority, Purpose and Worship. In this session, Dr. Jeffrey Johnson is before Martin Luther’s house in Germany to discuss the teachings of the true Christian church. We pray it is a blessing to you. If you want to see more from the study, click the link in the description below.
Also, for today only we are discounting the price of the The Church: Pillar and Ground of Truth documentary. You can see more here: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/the-church

Living with the True God IV: Approaching Judges Alongside Joshua

Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges - https://www.mediagratiae.org/lessons-from-judges
For the last three weeks Dr. John Snyder and Teddy James have been discussing the book of Judges. Our desire has been to make you aware of how much this book speaks to our current era.
To conclude this short series we want to present you with session one of our study, Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges. If you would like to get a more complete preview of the study by going through chapter one of the workbook follow the link below.
Show Notes:
Weeks 1 preview: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/a/members/326e6bce-c6c4-4d33-afb8-a70d9e341652/b31729a2-2f15-4aaf-922c-2f731b0cfdbd
Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts
You can get The Whole Counsel a day early on the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

Living with the True God III: Right in Our Own Eyes

Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges - https://www.mediagratiae.org/lessons-from-judges
The refrain of Judges is “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” When we stop to consider this statement it can become quite shocking. Gideon, a man who feared God, shaped a golden ephod and led his family into idolatry for generations. Jephthah committed human sacrifice. Eleven tribes attempted genocide against Benjamin. And through all this, each person was convinced he was doing what was right. In many cases, the people convinced themselves their actions were pleasing to God.
In this week’s episode, Dr. John Snyder and Teddy James have their final discussion on the heartbreaking book of Judges. There was so much to say we couldn’t keep it to our normal 30 minutes and instead chatted for an hour. And there was still so much more we wanted to say!
While the content of this episode is shocking and heartbreaking, we pray it pushes you to pursue holiness in Christ with a renewed vigor and earnestness.

Living with the True God II: Extraordinary Importance of Ordinary Lives

Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges - https://www.mediagratiae.org/lessons-from-judges
The book of Judges is an extraordinary book. It records times of great peril, eras of God’s grace, and heartbreaking seasons of idolatry. The people of Israel wrongly believed that since the battle for Canaan was over their battle against idolatry and sin was as well. As New Testament believers reading this account know, the battles for their hearts was just beginning.
In this week’s episode of our series giving you an overview of the Judges, Dr. John Snyder and Teddy James discuss the season of the Christian’s life that can seem so mundane and ordinary. It is the everyday life where the greatest victories of the Christian life happen. We can certainly celebrate victories over sin we once thought unbeatable. But when the battle is over and we return home, we must continue to be vigilant. We must continue leaning on our Beloved.
Again, this episode is just a fly-by of this often-misunderstood book of the Old Testament. For a more in-depth study of Judges, consider the Media Gratiae study, Living with the True God: Lesson from Judges. https://www.mediagratiae.org/lessons-from-judges.