On this special episode of The Calvary Cast, Jess and Graham are joined by discount Jeff Durbin (AKA Matt Anderson). They sit down to discuss one of the more bizarre passages in the Bible: Numbers 5. Why does the Lord want a woman to drink water with dust in it? Why must she say an oath? What does it mean that her thigh could fall away? All these questions, and more, are answered in this episode.
On this episode of The Calvary Cast, Jess and Graham discuss the book of the month, something they have not done for many months. After that, they dig into the listener suggested topic of the day: the pastoral prayer. Our worship service has lots of prayer, but one prayer in particular is longer, and we call it "the Pastoral Prayer." Why do we have this as part of our service? Why is it so long (in the minds of some)? What is its structure and Biblical basis? All these questions and more addressed on this podcast.
On this episode, Jess and Graham are joined once again by their favorite Australian. As per their usual arrangement, there is a bit of banter about the weather and other various topics before they dive into the topic of the day. The focus of this episode is John 17. In this crucial passage, we learn about who Jesus is, who his people are, how he prays for us, and how we have been invited into a glorious relationship with the Triune God.
On this episode, Graham and Jess discuss more trivial matters such as, the weather, Graham's cold, and Jess's dislike of summer. After the banter, they dig into the topic of the day: reading the epistles. What were the circumstances surrounding these letters? Who authored them? What is their relationship to the rest of the Bible? Listen to previous episodes in our "How to Read the Bible," series: 148, 151, 154, 159 and 160.
On this episode, Jess and Graham eat chocolate, drink coffee and welcome in a special guest. Andrew Johnson is back on the podcast, and after a bit of jocularity, the guys discuss loving and serving your church well, so that when you leave, it hurts.
On this episode, the guys discuss the importance of evaluating every area of our lives according to God's Word. To do this, we must look at major areas of our life (spiritual, family, work, personal and physical), then look at our individual responsibilities in those areas and see what God's Word says about those things. We pray this conversation will help you think about evaluating your life in light of God's Word. Here are two helpful articles on this same subject. "Out of Control? Learning to Establish a Biblical Use of Time and Priorities" https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/articles/out-of-control-learning-to-establish-a-biblical-use-of-time-and-priorities/?srsltid=AfmBOop4diGpyszNNHxUW_eppM3dVMVwQN9yuKDFDg6tnYwRqBpk-6oL "Biblical Priorities" https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2024/04/26/biblical-priorities/
On this episode, Jess and Graham discuss the legacy of John MacArthur. With his home going las week, it is appropriate to discuss the ministry of this man who has had such a large influence in the church in America and around the world. Though they did not know John MacArthur personally, there are many things that can be learned and applied from his many years of ministry.
On this episode, Graham and Jess open the podcast, chatting about the 4th of July. Graham thinks the Midwest does the 4th the best, and Jess is just "meh" about it. Topic of the day: Training Children for Worship. Why do we do what we do with children on a Sunday morning, that's the focus of this conversation. We hope this conversation will help clarify why we have a children's lesson during the sermon, and also why we want children in the service at younger ages.
On this 160th episode, Jess and Graham pat themselves on the back for recording 160 episodes and then discuss the prophets. The prophetic books of the Old Testament are some of the more difficult books to understand in the Bible, so what things do we need to look out for so we can understand them better? This episode is part of a series of podcasts on each of the sections of the Bible. Check out previous episodes 148, 151, 154 and 159. Check out this chart showing the historical context of the prophets: https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/chart-23-prophets/ If you don't have an ESV Study Bible, get one: https://www.crossway.org/bibles/esv-study-bible-case/ Take a deeper dive into the Prophets with the Tyndale House podcast: https://tyndalehouse.com/explore/podcasts/tyndale-house-podcast-series-3/
On this 159th episode, Jess and Graham banter about celebrity pastor-ism and silly church signs. Then they get into the topic of the day, the book of Acts, or the New Testament book of history. This episode is part of a series of podcasts overviewing the different sections of our Bibles, giving tips and backgrounds so people can better understand what they are reading. Prior episodes are 148, 151, and 154.
On this episode Jess and Graham eat donuts and drink coffee and discuss the news of the day (which by the time you're listening to this will be old news). The main subject for discussion on episode 158 is Satan. Some of the questions we address are: who is Satan, what power does he have, what power does have, what is he doing in the world, and what must Christians be aware of about him?
On this 157th episode, Graham shares some news with Jess and they talk about the book of Genesis. As we're preaching through the book of Genesis, we thought it would be helpful to give people a 30,000' view of the book, so that is what we attempt to do in this episode, give a broad outline and discuss some of the key points in the book.
On this episode, Graham and Jess do a movie review...of sorts, then dive into the topic of the day, the Ascension of Christ. This is a largely neglected area of Christ's life, but has massive implications. The guys discuss five points regarding Christ's ascension; what was accomplished in it, and what it means for us. Check out Robert Letham's article on the ascension if you want a helpful summary of the subject. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/ascension-of-christ/
On this episode, after the usual bit of banter, Jess and Graham answer a listener submitted question: what happens when we die? Do we go to purgatory, does our soul simple sleep, or do we go immediately into the presence of the Lord?
Our Cohorts have been up and running since the end of January, so we wanted to send out some reminders and encouragements for all who are a part of these groups. https://calvarybiblechurchgj.org/articles/2025-mens-womens-discipleship-cohorts/
On this episode, after no short discussion about two year olds and one of the greatest movie franchises ever, Jess and Graham return to their series on reading the Bible, this time examining. the books of history in the Old Testament. (Check out previous episodes in this series: 148 & 151.) What purpose do the books of history have? Why do we have the stories recorded that we do? What main themes do we see in each book, and how should we read these books? All these things and more covered in this episode.
On this episode of The Calvary Cast, Jess, Matt and Graham talk about the significance of the cross for Christianity. Rather than summarizing all the Bible teaches about the cross, they select one New Testament book, 1 Peter, and look at what we learn about the cross in Peter's first letter.
On this episode, Jess and Graham are joined again by their favorite Australian scientist to discuss faith and science. Can the two things co-exist? How should we read the first chapters of Genesis? What problems arise when we do not see the first eleven chapters of Genesis as historical? All these questions are addressed and more!
On this episode, after a bit of banter, Jess and Graham discuss the gospels. What are they? Who were the original readers? What are some key themes I should be looking for in them, and so much more.
On this special episode of the Calvary Cast, Graham and Jess are joined by their favorite Australian to ask and answer the question, "Are Mormons Christians?" There are three key areas we examine: What is our source of authority? What is our understanding our God and his nature? What is our understanding of salvation?