Gary Wilkerson Podcast

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 12 | So many organizations and people seem two-faced. They say they believe in one thing, but their actions say otherwise. It can be incredibly discouraging to witness and make people feel as if they can’t trust others. Christians, more than anyone else, should be people of conviction who boldly stand for the truth and don’t waver. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss what a life of conviction looks like and how we become someone firmly rooted in our beliefs. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp255c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 11 | How do we cultivate of a mentality of gratitude throughout life? Why is it important that we do so? Certainly, it makes us more pleasant for other people to be around, but that’s not the real reason why God cares about our gratitude. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West delve into the reasons why the Bible calls God’s people to be thankful. They discuss how Christ-followers can be honest about their pain and struggles without grumbling against God.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp254c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 10 | Spiritual attack and demonic forces are contentious topics in the church. Some maintain that such things are very distant from the mundane considerations of modern believers, while others see spiritual evil in everyday hardships. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss spiritual evil and the goodness of God as well as how those two aspects of the supernatural intersect with believers’ ordinary lives. Scripture is frank about the existence of spiritual forces, but how should we interact with them?View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp253c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 9 | The Christian church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ or branches on a vine, but often we don’t have that kind of close relationship with one another. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West talk about how authenticity in relationships can be messy and frustrating but also leads to genuinely close friendships as well as spiritual growth in a community. They explore the questions of what stands in the way of close relationships and how to we address those barriers.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp252c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 8 | Jesus proclaimed himself to be the way, the truth and the life. He offered his followers the most authentic life, one which grappled with reality while being empowered to overcome. This makes it all the more tragic when Christians are accused, sometimes rightfully, of being frauds or hypocrites. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how believers’ authenticity is needed to reach a world desperately longing for something genuine.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp251c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 7 | Surveys in America show that around 80 percent of people are reporting exhaustion and burnout. Discussions rage back and forth about what the solution is, and Christianity has answers, but rates of stress and fatigue are often just as high or even higher in churches. This is wildly at odds with Christ’s invitation for the weary to find rest in him, so what are we missing? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how biblical rest leads to godly peace and how both are necessary for the church to see revival.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp250c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 6 | What would it look like for believers to live with true shalom and offer that to an anxious world? Our modern culture is deeply troubled by strife and stress, so how do believers remain afloat in what often feels like stormy seas? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss what biblical peace looks like, where it comes from and how Christians can spread it around themselves wherever they go. Such an otherworldly peace will almost certainly be what draws distraught people to God and brings revival to our nation.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp249c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 5 | Forgiveness is a key element of Christianity because of Jesus’s work on the cross, but forgiving our fellow sinners can feel much more complicated. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West talk about how popular culture understands forgiveness, how the church has historically misunderstood forgiveness and how the Bible talks about forgiveness in a nuanced way.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp248c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 4 | True biblical generosity is a transformative experience for both the giver and the recipient. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West explore the ways that generosity has been warped and misunderstood by both popular culture and sometimes even the church. They also dive into how the Bible actually defines being generous and how much bigger God’s picture of giving is than our narrow definition. Our Lord’s commands for generosity are freeing and a blessing to those who obey.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp247c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 3 | Modern culture is consumed by self-branding and self-promotion. It feels like a necessary evil of life in the current age, but what if the exact opposite may be essential for God to move? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss when it’s appropriate to be known for our godly work and when our insidious desire for glorifying ourselves gets in the way. Gary and Joshua explore how we can discern what is in our own hearts when we’re recognized for the good we do in the world. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp246c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 2 | What is love? It’s such a simple seeming question, and yet the answer is more complex than we might guess. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how believers should define love and how that understanding redefines our entire lives. Love that has its source in God will radically transform our hearts and minds and will inevitably spill out into all of our choices and interactions with other people. The love and loving truth of Christ is the example that God wants his children to reflect in a dark world.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp245c

A Move of God in Our Generation - Part 1 | Having the same mind as Christ means to adopt true humility, but what exactly does that look like? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss what exactly it means to be a humble believer. They also explore why the virtue of humility is absolutely essential for the modern church to see a major move of God. The Father will not bless any church movement that glorifies itself or exalts believers over the Lord. It’s only when we truly focus on God’s glorification and submit ourselves to his ways that he will bring revival.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp244c

For almost as long as the Bible has circulated, church leaders and Bible scholars have written books to give people access to their knowledge about the scriptures. In this week’s episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss all of the resources available to modern believers who want to grow in their knowledge of hermeneutics, systematic theology and church history. With these tools, we can come to a fuller and more thorough understanding of what God is telling us about himself in his book.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp243c

The Bible is not a simple book. It describes God who is, in many ways, a being far beyond our ability to understand. It contains dense eyewitness narratives about earth-shaking events during Jesus’ lifetime. All of this can lead some people to believe that there are contradictions in scripture. In this week’s episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how to make sense of some of these seeming contradictions in the Bible. They also explore what paradoxes exist in scripture that Christians must make peace with through their faith. To mature as a believe, we must learn how to wrestle with these portions of the Bible. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp242c

Simply being sincere in our belief in God is not enough if we don’t actually know what the Bible says and who God is. This week, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how important it is for believers to know the whole counsel of scripture. If we know who the God of the Bible really is, our faith and spiritual discernment will be strengthened. It’s hard work to grow in our knowledge of scripture and God, but there is nothing more worthwhile in our lives.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp241c

The Bible was created in several literary types of writing. So even while taking scripture literally, believers should understand the modes through which God is communicated his will and commands. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss which literary types are included in scripture and how readers should approach them in order to best understand what God is saying.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp240c

What would a biblical stance on the end times look like? Where does Israel fit into our ideas of God’s people? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West explore answers to these questions and how believers should approach apocalyptic portions of scripture. Dispensationalism is a popular American view of the Bible, and it offers a very particular interpretation of Israel’s place among God’s people and how to interpret verses about Christ’s second coming. Some dispensationalist viewpoints are less biblical than others, however, and Gary and Joshua are here to define and explore this particular lens on the Bible. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp239c

Who do we say that Jesus is? What do we believe about God’s character and commands? Our most honest answers will reveal a great deal about us and our view of the Lord. This week, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss how our experiences and willingness to study scripture will create a particular lens through which we understand God’s law and nature. As sinful people, we will have incorrect ideas about the Bible and the Lord, but part of our calling to spiritually mature is to identify the assumptions we make when we think about God and challenge them against scripture. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp238c

Believers can choose several different methods to use while they study scripture. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss four different ways to learn more about God’s person and commands in his great letter to humanity. Each of these methods have benefits for understanding the Bible better but also potential pitfalls if they are misused or misunderstood, which Gary and Joshua explore in this discussion.View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp237c

We’ve probably all heard a person claim that the Bible says something that it clearly doesn’t. How does this happen? In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss the difference between exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is searching for the Bible’s meaning, regardless of what we wish it would say instead. Eisegesis is imposing our thoughts and desires onto our interpretation of the Bible. Reading scripture correctly requires great humility because we must allow God to correct our thoughts about him and his commands. View the show notes: https://wcm.link/gwp236c