T4g Podcast

We were created to live in complete obedience to our loving Creator, but in the fall, the whole of our being has been corrupted by idolatrous sin. Ligon Duncan traces the biblical storyline to show how Christ redeems his fallen people, renewing them to a whole-hearted obedience to the God of grace. Increasingly conformed to the image of Christ, Christians are to be distinct from the world in their love of God and neighbor.

How do pastors faithfully serve congregations that have been affected by worldliness? Thabiti Anyabwile mines the book of Jude for the answer. Pastors must look out for unsaved scoffers and look into the church, whose members keep one another in the love of God. Yet, in the midst of the struggle, pastors find assurance by looking to God who is able to keep them from stumbling.

In an exposition of Galatians 4:19, John MacArthur unpacks Paul’s pastoral heart towards the church in Galatia. He argues that the pastor’s central task is to increasingly conform the congregation into the image of Christ through the preaching of the Word. The pastor is not ultimately judged by the size of the church or the notoriety of the ministry, but the sanctification of the sheep.

What is the fundamental quality that sets Christians apart from the world? John Piper looks to the affections, arguing that through the gospel, we are given a new gladness in a new God. Thus, “the most basic distinction and essential distinction between the church and the world is not new decisions of the will, new deeds of the hands, or new doctrines in the mind, but a new delight in the heart in the glory of God.”

How does pastoral ministry intersect with biblical theology? Starting from a testimony from “The Return of the King,” Jim Hamilton clarifies what biblical theology is and is not. Further, Hamilton looks at 1-2 Peter and Jude to exemplify what biblical theology is and how the undershepherd should understand it.

The reality is that there is no place to hide given that we’re in a time of tremendous change. People don’t think like we’ve previously expected to think, even moral instinct has changed. In this breakout session, Al Mohler discusses how the culture has changed by reviewing hallmark dates and events—even within the same generation.

David Platt speaks to the need for local churches to be at the center of global missions. How can local churches and missions entities partner together? Why should local churches be at the center of global missions in reaching the nations? In this breakout session, David prays for every listener to to pray however God wants them to, to give however much God wants them to, and to go wherever God wants them to at any cost.

“shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” (1 Peter 5:2) Pastoral ministry not only involves the faithful proclamation of the gospel but it also calls for pleasing God in the privacy of the pastor’s heart. In this breakout session, C.J. Mahaney looks at 1 Peter 5 to help encourage pastors in their joy in ministry.

Martin Luther believed that congregational singing was absolutely critical to every part of what The Reformation was about. Why would Luther not let a man to preach or teach if he did not know the power of sacred music? Why is singing not only a command but a joy and a privilege? And what does this mean for the local church? Join Keith Getty as he discusses these issues and others.

Join Matt Chandler as he reviews the losses his church has taken for the sake of church planting and how those losses are actually joyous gains. Why should the end of evangelism or missions be the establishing of a healthy bastion of gospel light or, in other words, a church? In this breakout session, Matt Chandler discusses the work the Lord is doing through brothers his church has raised up and the beauty of seeing the gospel go forth.

How might we think through the history of race, reformed theology, and the Reformation? Given the sins of the past and the present, how might the body of Christ unite to represent the unity of God and the power of the gospel. Join Ligon Duncan and Jemar Tisby as they trace race theory, theological thought, and Christian practice and malpractice throughout history and the Scripture.

In this panel discussion, Phillip Jensen (author of the gospel tract, “Two Ways to Live”) and Mark Dever discuss the Reformation, the Catholic church, and other theological issues. Jensen contends that, “to say that the pope is the vicar of Christ is blasphemy; it’s a terrible error. The Holy Spirit is the vicar of Christ.” Why are the Catholic claims of the Pope blasphemy against the Father, the Son, and the Spirit?  

H.B. Charles joins Mark Dever and Thabiti Anyabwile to discuss Thabiti’s latest book, “Reviving the Black Church.” What might the larger body of Christ glean from the strengths of the black church? What might we think about monochromatic churches given what Revelation depicts about God’s kingdom? As pastor H.B. says, “biblical discipleship is committed to reaching all the nations.”

In this panel, the four founders of T4G gather as they did in 2006 to review the day, laugh, and dive into various theological issues. Having just viewed God’s grace to T4G over the past 10 years in this video, Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, CJ Mahaney, and Mark Dever review God’s past faithfulness as they trust God for future grace. May we stand faithful and together in the gospel until our Lord’s return.

In this panel, Albert Mohler, John Piper, Ligon Duncan, Kevin DeYoung, and Mark Dever share stories from the Reformation and biographies that can lend courage to believers today in the face of opposition. May God give us grace to learn from those who have gone before us in the faith, to follow their examples in so far as these brothers and sisters followed Christ.

In this panel, Mark Dever, John MacArthur, Ligon Duncan, and Al Moher discuss the reform that is still needed in the church today. John Calvin once asked, “Everybody agrees that the church requires reform, but how urgent is that need?” At the very core of the church is the love for Christ that pastors ought to pray grows in their own lives and in the lives of their church members.

Is the Reformation over? Ligon Duncan suggests thattheReformation is not over. In fact, “the issues that werethefoundation of the Protestant Reformation are perenniallyimportant,and they’re especially important for us in our own dayand time.”Giving historical consideration to those issues, Duncanshows howthe issues at the bedrock of the Protestant Reformationapply to usand our churches today.

The key question that kept Luther on his knees was this: How aresins forgiven? In this talk, Dr. Albert Mohler reviews how sins areforgiven in Christ and in Christ alone and how sinners aretransferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.Martin Luther penned the 95 theses to make this truth clear.

At the heart of Martin Luther’s theology is the conviction thathuman beings are totally dependent on God’s omnipotent grace torescue us from the bondage of the will by creating and decisivelyfulfilling every inclination to believe and obey. Are the debatesabout the freedom of the will and the bondage of the willperipheral to the church? Were they during the Reformation? Is ourworking added to God’s working or is our working God’s working?Just how fallen and sinful are human beings? Piper exploressomething of the depths of human depravity in this talk.

Normally, when we consider the Reformers, we consider thetheological revolution they brought about; this consideration isgood and right. One aspect of the Reformers we often skip over,however, is that these men were fundamentally pastors. As such, theReformers lent great pastoral contributions that we can receivemuch encouragement from especially in the midst of our suffering.CJ Mahaney looks to the Reformation and to the book of Job for suchencouragement.