#27 The Beginning of the Good News

In this episode we work through Mark 1:1-8, get introduced to two major characters in the story and and see how a dude wearing clothes made of camel hair and eating bugs gets lots of people to repent of their sins, get dunked in a river and find new life.

Also I ask about the notebook you use when you study the Bible. A notebook (and writing in it) is an important way to engage the text at a deeper level than simply reading it. I’d love to know what kind you use. Email a link or a pic of your notebook to jeff@revjeff.online.

#26 Introducing the Gospel of Mark

In this episode I explain the difference between the text of Scripture and the events in the text, describe the primary theme of the Gospel of Mark, highlight a key recurring pattern to pay attention to in the story and show you the dramatic tension the author sets up for us as readers in the text.

Also I read a killer shout out to Pastor Danny Lamonte at First Evangelical Free Church in Lincoln Nebraska from Karen Lynne Knaup who listens to him preach there every week. If you want to shout out your favorite local pastor, teacher or ministry leader who teaches you the word faithfully each week and helps you grow, send me their name, your church, the town you’re in and a couple sentences about why they rule. Email it to jeff@revjeff.online and I’ll read it in an upcoming episode.

#25 Two Big Changes to the Podcast

In this episode I share two big changes that are coming to my podcast in 2021 and explain why we’re making them. I’m thankful that you’ve listened in the past and I’m stoked for the changes coming up in this new season. 

The Know Your Bible Podcast with Jeff Olson is here to help you know the Bible better so you can know and love God more. I’m a Bible teacher and pastor with over thirty years of experience helping real people like you understand Scripture. I’m irreverent and funny but I’m not messing around when it comes to the Bible. In this podcast I’ll teach you the Bible, theology and what it all has to do with real life.

#24 The Bethlehem Candle Advent 2020

It’s Advent season so I’m doing a four week Advent series of podcast episodes for you this December!

In the first episode we looked at the Prophecy Candle. It reminds us that faithful believers throughout the centuries waited with trust and expectation for the Lord to fulfill his promise to send a king who would save his people from their sins.

In this episode we check out the Bethlehem Candle. It reminds us that Christ the King came into the world humbly as a servant to save his people from their sins. It also reminds us that we, who wait for the King, should bless our world through humble service like he did.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

1:51 - How You’d Expect a King to Show Up
3:53 - Jesus Showed up as King Humbly in Bethlehem
5:44 - Jesus Stayed Humble as the King
7:05 - Jesus was Despised not Celebrated
8:57 - Jesus Humbly Served the World as King
10:40 - So What? What Does This Have to Do with You and Me?
22:21 - Next Episode: The Shepherd’s Candle
23:24 - Drink of Choice
25:29 - Christmas Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

Get my book The King Will Come: A Section by Section Guide to Understanding the Old Testament

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

#23 The Prophecy Candle Advent 2020

Hey I have a special four week Advent series of podcast episodes for you this December! Advent is the season of four Sundays leading up to Christmas. There are different traditions and ways of celebrating but one thing is common: Advent is a season for preparing our hearts to celebrate Christ at Christmas.

In this first episode I’ll explain the Prophecy Candle. It’s the candle lit during the first week of Advent traditionally as part of an Advent wreath. This candle reminds us that faithful believers throughout the centuries waited with trust and expectation for the Lord to fulfill his promise to send a king who would save his people from their sins.

In the story of the Bible Jesus is that king! We celebrate the fulfillment of the promise at Christmas and look forward to his return when he will rule all the nations and welcome us into his eternal kingdom. 

Episode Highlights

1:09 - I Don’t Do Well Waiting for Christmas
2:06 - Finding Your Presents before Christmas Isn’t as Awesome as You Think
4:23 - Advent is a Season to Prepare Your Heart
5:18 - The Prophecy Candle
5:42 - Waiting for God to Fulfill His Promise
8:40 - God Sent Prophets to Remind His People of His Promise
12:01 - Almost Nobody Cared about God’s Promise
13:26 - A Righteous Few Waited with Hope
18:37 - So What? What Does This Have to Do with You and Me?
25:45 - Another Resource to Help You Prepare for Christmas
27:52 - Drink of Choice
29:27 - Christmas Metal Moment

Links mentioned in this episode:

Download the Isaiah for Christmas Reading Guide

Get my book The King Will Come: A Section by Section Guide to Understanding the Old Testament

When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

#22 Four Reasons You Should Know the Old Testament Better

I’ve been teaching a course called The Story of the Old Testament for years because most believers are relatively clueless about the Old Testament. They know the Bible stories, they read the Psalms and aren’t really sure what to do with the prophecies.  

What they usually don’t know is how the stories, psalms and prophecies fit together into one larger story and how that story connects with Jesus and the New Testament.

Whether you’re a new reader of the Old Testament or you’ve been at it a while, it’s not hard to admit that we could all know the Old Testament better.

In this episode of the Core Life Training podcast, I’m gonna give you four reasons you SHOULD know the Old Testament better!

I hope it stokes you up to read the Old Testament, and maybe even read a book (that comes out at Halloween) that explains how the Old Testament tells the story of Jesus and the Gospel.

p.s. If you haven’t already,  you can download a free sample section where I explain how the author of Genesis has built the story of chapters 1-9 and what they’re all about. Get it at:

www.corelifetraining.org/thekingwillcome


EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

00:27 - Apologies For My Voice

2:09 - Everyone Should Know the Old Testament Better

5:08 - Reason 1: It's in the Bible

8:53 - Reason 2: It's Jesus' and the Apostles' Bible

12:14 - Reason 3: It's the Story of Jesus and the Gospel

17:36 - Reason 4: You Can't Know the New Testament Correctly If You Don't.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

#21 Introducing My New Book: The King Will Come

So I made my HUGE announcement Monday, October 5th:

My first book titled The King Will Come, will be available on Halloween this year!

The content of the book comes from The Story of the Old Testament course I've taught. Many of you have taken that course, loved it and your feedback pushed me to finally nail it down in book format (Thanks for encouraging me!). I'm super stoked to finally have this project on the doorstep and ready to ship!

In this episode of the Core Life Training podcast I read the introduction of the book to you. I want you to have an idea of what the book is about and hopefully stoke your interest in checking it out when it’s available.

Major disclaimer: I am NOT a professional audiobook reader. If you listen to this podcast you know. But I’m gonna go for it anyway and trust Garageband to help edit out the dumb stuff I say and mistakes I make. 

If you want a little more you can download a free sample section where I explain how the author of Genesis has built the story of chapters 1-9 and what they’re all about. Get it at https://www.corelifetraining.org/thekingwillcome

So if you’re ready to roll, grab your Bible, a notebook and your drink of choice. And let’s get down to business.

Episode Highlights

2:15 - Author Introduction

2:24 - Acknowledgements

3:05 - An Illustrated Guide

3:40 - True Confession

5:18 - A Life Changing Class

6:22 - Jesus Taught Ray’s Class before Ray Did

7:35 - Let Me Be Your Guide

8:54 - The Hebrew Bible and Why it Matters

10:32 - The Example of Ruth

12:28 - Get a Free Sample of the Book

Links mentioned in this episode:

#20 Four Roadblocks Keeping You from Getting the Most out of Your Bible Reading

Over the summer I’ve been cranking on a brand new Core LIfe Training course called Next Level Bible Reading. The goal of the course is to teach you the Bible  reading skills that will help you get more value out of what you read in Scripture.

In this episode I’m going to explain my motive for making the course and describe four major roadblocks that keep people from getting the most out of their Bible reading.

I’ll also share a brand new free guide you can download to help you get thru those roadblocks. It’ll help you engage with Scripture in a way that I think will be a game changer for you.  

Download my free guide: Next Level Bible Reading

So if you’re ready to roll, grab your Bible, a notebook and your drink of choice. And let’s get down to business.

Episode Highlights

  • 1:24 - Why I’m Making a New Course

  • 4:00 - Roadblock #1: I don’t know how to read the Bible.

  • 6:58 - Roadblock #2: I don’t understand what the Bible means.

  • 10:44 - Roadblock #3: I don’t see how the Bible applies to real life.

  • 13:55 - Roadblock #4: I don’t know how to stay motivated to read my Bible.

  • 17:36 - Drink of Choice: Ruined Again by Stone Brewing

  • 18:32 - Metal Moment: All is Lost by Yatra

Links mentioned in this episode

#19 The Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22)

Recently I’ve been doing a Bible read through with some people from my church. My goal, as always, is to help people know the Bible better so they can know and love God more.

One question comes from the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. It’s clear in Scripture that sacrificing children is definitely a no-no. So how can God command Abraham to do what he hates?

Episode Highlights

  • 2:00 - Sacrificing Children is Bad in the Bible

  • 5:52 - Why Isaac is So Important in the Story

  • 12:44 - God’s Command to Sacrifice Isaac

  • 23:29 - The Focus of the Narrative

  • 32:49 - Drink of Choice: Narwhal Imperial Stout

  • 33:51 - Metal Moment: Forming the Void

Next Episode

In the next episode of the Core Life Training Podcast I’ll share a new guide I’ve written called Next Level Bible reading. When I became a believer someone gave me a Bible and I found out right away that I should be reading it. So I did. But I was never really sure what I was supposed to be getting out of it. I was committed so I kept trying. But I always had a sense that I could be, that I should be getting more out of my Bible study. Maybe you want more out of what you read too but aren’t sure what to do.

There are four roadblocks that keep us from getting more out of what we read in Scripture. I’ll share them with you in the next episode and get you my guide called Next Level Bible reading. I want to help you level up your Bible study and get more out of what you read.

Links in this Episode

  • Check out Forming the Void and get their stuff on bandcamp.

  • Get some Narwhal Imperial Stout at Sierra Nevada

  • When the Pandemic is over come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

  • Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

George Floyd and Injustice in America

I felt like it was really important to address the unrest in our country related to the murder of George Floyd.

I’m a white guy. I admit as much of my bias as I can see. I’m open to seeing more. I’ve seen on social media that, since I’m white, I have no right to speak to this. I’ve also seen on social media that, since I’m white, I MUST speak on this. But since I don’t give a rip what social media tells me about my rights or responsibilities… I offer this with as much love, humility, honesty, openness, willingness and hope as I have. It’s not all I would or could say and likely not all I should say. It’s not what a perfect person would say. It’s what I do say.

No drink of choice. No metal moment. Just 35 minutes of my heart from Scripture about real life.

#18 Did Jesus Go to Hell??

So I’ve been on Zoom Thursday night at 7pm answering some great Bible questions. Easter was just a month ago and one question came out of the Easter narratives. The Gospels tell us Jesus died and was buried and then rose again. But what happened between Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection? Where was he?

The Apostles' Creed says "He descended into hell." Did he really? Some theological traditions say he did. In this episode I’ll sort it out from Scripture.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 1:59 - The Simple Answer

  • 12:08 - What Happened to the Souls of Old Testament Believers?

  • 15:00 - What about the Apostle’s Creed?

  • 18:41 - What about Roman Catholic Doctrine?

  • 21:28 - What about 1 Peter 3:18-20?

  • Outro

  • 35:13 - Drink of Choice: Maker’s Mark Bourbon

  • 36:17 - Metal Moment: Hippie Death Cult

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#17 Hosanna to Crucify??

AND WE’RE BACK!

I've been on Zoom every Thursday night answering great Bible questions. It dawned on me that I was basically doing a live version of podcast episodes! So I just hit record, added a drink of choice and metal moment and here we are again!!

THE FICKLE CROWD AS JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM

In episode 17, I answer a question related to Easter week: How can the crowd who hails Jesus as the coming king as he enters Jerusalem in Mark 11, cry out for his crucifixion before Pilate just two days later?

The crowd is often described in books and sermons as extremely fickle. Their enthusiasm is short lived. 

The author of Mark explains it in a different way. I'll show you from the Bible in this episode.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2:08 - The Problem of the Fickle Crowd

  • 3:27 - The Crowd of Supporters

  • 10:07 - Jerusalem as a Setting in Mark’s Gospel

  • 13:41 - The Crowd that Cried Crucify!

  • 18:52 - What Does it Mean that Pilate was “Amazed”?

  • 20:21 - What Would’ve Happened to Pilate if He Let Jesus Go?

  • 24:48  - Drink of Choice

  • 25:23 - Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#16 Seeing God to Love God

HOW TO LOVE GOD MORE PASSIONATELY

There’s one main thing we need so that we can love God more passionately. [SPOILER!] We need a clearer vision of God and his glory! In the first half of this episode I’ll show you a biblical theology of our need to see God more clearly. In the second half I’ll give you six things you can do to get a clearer vision of God so you can love him more. So you’re gonna get a deeply theological episode that’s radically practical.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 5:20 - The Problem of Blindness to God’s Glory

  • 8:51 - How God Opens Our Eyes to See His Glory

  • 13::55 - Our Battle to See God More Clearly

  • 17:54 - Six Things You Can Do to See God More Clearly and Stoke Your Heart for God.

    If you stick around after the outro you’ll get this episode’s drink of choice and metal moment. Both are awesome.

  • 30:23 - Drink of Choice: The Michael Jackson

  • 31:21 - Metal Moment: Year of the Cobra - Ash and Dust

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#15 Why God Wants Your Heart

WHY DOES GOD WANT YOUR HEART??

Of all the things God could want most, why does he want your heart above all things? God could demand and have your obedience to every command, he could have your sacrifice for his kingdom and your service to his church and mission. But before and above all that he wants your heart to be in love with him. Why is that? Thankfully, Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing. There’s a great reason God wants your heart and, if you have any church background, I bet you won’t see it coming.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 3:10 - Two Faulty Views of Life

  • 11:23 - The Biblical Truth that Life Comes from Your Heart

  • 16:53 - Your Heart Moves You to Action

  • 19:55 - Why Accountability Groups Rarely Work

  • Outro

  • 24:06 - Drink of Choice

  • 25:28 - Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

  • Go to www.corelifetraining.org/isaiah for class details and registration.

  • Check out Krownn and get their stuff on bandcamp.

  • Get some Abyss at Deschutes Brewery.

  • Come hang with me at The Hoppy Brewer on Main Street in downtown Gresham!

  • Follow Core Life Training on Facebook and Instagram

#14 God Loves You

GOD LOVES YOU

Do you ever feel like God is disappointed with you? Or like you’re having a hard time making him happy? Or keeping him happy? Even after you confess your sins do you still feel guilty? Have you ever felt like you need to make it up to God when you sin? Or you can’t pray or expect a blessing until you’ve been more faithful in obeying God? I have and almost everyone I’ve ever taught has too. 

But how do those feelings fit with the biblical truth that God loves you? So many people live with the right doctrinal belief about God, but struggle with a mental picture of a God who is judgmental, disappointed or just distant. God wants our hearts above all things So if we’re ever going to do the great commandment and love God with all our heart, we have to come to grips with the love of God. Stay tuned and I’ll show you what I mean.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2:02 - God Loves You First

  • 4:09 - The Difference between Doctrinal Belief vs. Functional Belief

  • 11:33 - Faulty Mental Images of God

  • 15:29 - How God Loves the Worst of Sinners

  • 22:17 - Using Scripture to Battle a Faulty Mental Image of God

  • 33:50 - Drink of Choice

  • 34:26 - Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#13 God Wants Your Heart

CORE 2: LOVING GOD PASSIONATELY

In the last four episodes of the Core Life Training Podcast I introduced you to the key ideas of Core 1: Knowing God Deeply in His Word. I also gave you a simple plan for knowing God deeply. If you didn’t get a chance to download my guide to making the most of your personal bible study you can get it here

In the next 4 episodes I’m gonna break down our 2nd core value: Loving God Passionately. I’ll tell you my story of struggling with what I had been taught about God and the Christian life. When God got this stuff from Scripture through to me it changed everything. Honestly, If I could only preach one thing for the rest of my life it would be the stuff we cover in the next 4 episodes. 

What you’re gonna hear is live audio recorded at a Core 2 class I taught in Sisters Oregon at Vast church in 2017. These episodes will be a little longer than normal because the biblical truths are just too good to leave any out. I promise it’ll be worth your while.

So grab your bible, a notebook and your drink of choice and let’s get down to business.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 3:12 - My Story with Checklist Christianity

  • 10:29 - The One Thing God Wants Most

  • 13:06 - The Faulty Math You Probably Learned from John 14:15

  • 17:17 - The True Logic of Love and Action

  • 20:21 -  Love is an Affection in the Real World

  • 25:01 - What Love Sounds Like in the Bible

Outro

  • 38:30 - Drink of Choice

  • 39:17 - Metal Moment

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#12 A Simple Plan for Knowing God Deeply in His Word

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!!

Insta Isaiah Class-3.png

Isaiah is one of the most important books in the story of the whole Bible. But it’s easy to get lost while you’re reading it.

So in 3 hours, 6-9pm, Sunday night November 17th I’ll help you understand how the book fits into the story of Scripture, its key themes and what it has to do with real life. I know it will be super helpful for you and I’d love it if you jumped in on it with me.

Registration is up online, people are already signing up for it. Seating is limited to 35 so you’ll want to get in on it soon. If you register by October 14th you’ll get 30% off the regular price!

EPISODE 12: A SIMPLE PLAN FOR KNOWING GOD

God loves being known, personally and truly. If we’re going to know God deeply we have to go to his word where he reveals himself to us. But this is where lots of people get stuck. They get handed a Bible and told to read it. But no one ever teaches them HOW to read it!. They don’t learn how to get meaning from the text or what they’re even trying to get out of it in the first place. Have you ever opened your Bible and wondered what you should read? Or read something and wondered what you were supposed to get out of it? This episode is for you!

In this episode I want to give you a simple, three step plan for knowing God deeply in his word.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 3:12 Why many people get stuck trying to read the Bible.

  • 5:27 The three things you need to get ready to read the Bible.

  • 7:58 The Simple Plan for knowing God deeply in his word.

  • 8:55 My prayer when I study the Bible.

  • 11:29 Eight types of notes you can take while you read.

  • 17:49  Share your questions or thoughts about the plan with me!

  • 19:10 How to get my free ebook - Make Your Bible Work for You: A Guide to Getting the Most from Your Personal Bible Study.

If you stick around after the outro you’ll get this episode’s drink of choice and metal moment. Both are awesome.

  • 20:03 The Drink of Choice.

  • 20:32 The Metal Moment.

LINKS IN THIS EPISODE

#11: THE ONE THING YOU NEED FOR KNOWING GOD

Big News! A brand new live Core Life Training class!

Insta Isaiah Class-3.png

I am totally pumped to be teaching a brand new live class on the book of Isaiah! Isaiah is one of the most important books in all of the Bible but it’s easy to get lost or confused when you read it. Who’s talking? Who are they talking to? Are they talking about now or the future??

I’m excited to help you dig into the book, understand its message and know God better through it!

EPISODE 11: YOU ONLY NEED ONE THING TO KNOW GOD

God Loves to be known and he wants to be known deeply, personally and truly. So in episode 11 of the Core Life Training Podcast, I wanna show you the one thing you need in order to know God.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 0:29 - A new live class on Isaiah.

  • 4:47 - Six ways God reveals himself and why they don’t help us.

  • 12:10 - The one thing we really need for knowing God.

  • 16:06 - Four reasons we shouldn’t go to Scripture and the one reason we should.

  • 17:08 - A prayer to say when you read the Bible.

  • 17:36 - A sneak peek at Episode 12: A Simple Plan for Know God in HIs Word.

If you stick around after the outro you’ll get this episode’s drink of choice and metal moment. Both are awesome.

  • 20:07 - Drink of Choice

  • 20:55 - Metal Moment

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Read the Transcript

CLT 10 Do You Know What it Means to Know God

In Episode 9 - God Loves Being Known, we started into the first of God’s four core values. One thing God wants most is that we would know him deeply in his word. In Jeremiah 9:23-24 and Hosea 6:4-6 God says, “I delight in the knowledge of God. I love that you would know me.”

Do you know what it means to know God?

That phrase can come across as Christian jargon like “fellowship” or “community” or “discipleship. We nod at the idea of it like we know what it means without ever defining it biblically. But if knowing God is one of God’s core values, we better get really clear about it.

In this episode we’ll define biblically what it means to know God.

Here are the key takeaways:

  1. Knowing God is Personal.

  2. Knowing God is Truthful.

  3. God tells us about himself in Scripture.

If you stick around after the outro you’ll get this episode’s drink of choice and metal moment. Both are awesome.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Read the Transcript

CLT 09 God Loves Being Known

We’re kicking off a new series of the Core Life Training Podcast answering the question: “What does God want most from me?” Over the next several episodes we’ll break it all down for you! Here's what we’ll work through....

  • God's four core values for our lives (what he wants most from you above all).

  • Where those values are in Scripture.

  • What they have to do with our real life.

We'll do big picture theology, get down with specific biblical texts and make it all super practical. I hope you'll jump in on it with me!!

In this episode we get into one of the four things God wants most: Knowing God Deeply in His Word.

Key Takeaways

  1. That we can know God at all is a gift of God’s grace to us..

  2. God loves to be known by us.

  3. Question: What does it mean to you to “know God”?

Links in This Episode