Latest / Karl and Crew / What Shapes Your Worldview with Dr. Peter Worrall & When School Feels Boring with Dr. Elizabeth Smith
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- 0:00S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond. It's Carl
- 0:06S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide, overcome
- 0:10S1: what seems impossible and live as you never imagined delivering
- 0:16S1: the truth daily.
- 0:17S2: If it were possible to have every worldly gain available.
- 0:21S2: And you're forfeiting your soul. There's no amount of gain
- 0:25S2: that would make it worth it.
- 0:26S3: Our own way never ever works. Because it's apart from
- 0:29S3: the life source, which is God.
- 0:32S4: For me, growing up, love was always conditional and can
- 0:36S4: be taken from you. Christ's love can't. And he went
- 0:39S4: to the cross with my mind and my heart that night.
- 0:44S1: Now from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl
- 0:48S1: and Crew.
- 0:49S2: Have you ever noticed that if you are reading your
- 0:52S2: Bible in a public space, it tends to Either be
- 0:59S2: a conversation starter or people tend to notice. Have you
- 1:04S2: ever noticed this? Not okay. Not at Moody.
- 1:08S3: Sure. Yeah.
- 1:09S2: Reading your Bible in a public space.
- 1:11S3: Pretty common.
- 1:11S2: Moody Bible Institute.
- 1:14S3: There's a lot of people doing that.
- 1:15S2: Pretty common. Pretty common place. But I was I was
- 1:20S2: at the library. I was at the one of the
- 1:22S2: Chicago Public Library branches last week, and my son was
- 1:27S2: doing some tutoring. He was doing some tutoring with a tutor.
- 1:31S2: So they meet at the library. So I just sit
- 1:33S2: and I off to the side while he does his thing.
- 1:35S2: And I was just reading my Bible. And so this
- 1:38S2: woman walks by and she stops and she just kind
- 1:41S2: of looks for a minute. And it was one of
- 1:43S2: those like, I could feel eyes on me. So it
- 1:46S2: kind of turned around and looked. And she mentioned that
- 1:49S2: she had gone to a Bible study. And so we
- 1:53S2: just started talking. And here's, here's the I wonder, I
- 1:56S2: want to know how you handle this? Because there are
- 2:00S2: times when, like you're having a conversation with someone and you're,
- 2:04S2: you're in agreement on a lot of things. Sure. And
- 2:07S2: then you're not sure if you're talking about the same thing. Uh,
- 2:11S2: and so there were, there were parts where for sure
- 2:13S2: we were like in lockstep. Mhm. And then there were
- 2:16S2: parts where I wasn't sure if we were in lockstep anymore,
- 2:19S2: but I like didn't want to be like, actually, I
- 2:22S2: don't know if I don't know if we're.
- 2:24S3: Yeah. It's hard.
- 2:26S2: And so what I, what I did in this particular conversation, lovely,
- 2:30S2: lovely woman. We had a fantastic conversation. And so where,
- 2:35S2: where there were points where I wasn't sure if we
- 2:37S2: were in agreement. I, um, I would just kind of
- 2:41S2: like when the conversation would like kick back to me,
- 2:43S2: I would just state something that I, that I could
- 2:46S2: believe that I, that I, that I did could affirm
- 2:49S2: was true.
- 2:50S3: Try to steer away from getting into a debate about
- 2:52S3: certain things.
- 2:53S2: But it was and it wouldn't have been a debate.
- 2:55S2: It would have been one of those like where you're all,
- 2:57S2: you're in a group. Yeah, yeah. Oh, I don't know.
- 3:00S2: I don't know.
- 3:03S3: Yeah. Yeah.
- 3:05S2: I mean, people come come to it from different places, right?
- 3:08S3: 100%. I think that there's, I, I think that there's
- 3:11S3: different ways to handle it. Absolutely. Obviously it all depends
- 3:14S3: kind of on the situation you're in. You know, if
- 3:16S3: she was walking around and, you know, saying stuff that
- 3:20S3: was that was like different on salvation and you guys
- 3:25S3: were in a comfortable enough conversation, you could have opened
- 3:27S3: it up and said, well, listen, I think because you've
- 3:29S3: had those, you've had those with people who were like, well,
- 3:32S3: we're all children of God. And you'd say that and you're.
- 3:34S2: Like.
- 3:34S3: Right. Actually, the Bible says that we're not.
- 3:37S2: And so there's the moment. Do you do you. Correct. And,
- 3:40S2: and I think there are times when you're correct. And
- 3:42S2: I think there are times where to like try to
- 3:45S2: jump in and. Yes. Um, correct. Somebody in that moment
- 3:49S2: would maybe be kind of rude and shut down the conversation.
- 3:53S3: Exactly. There are times where it's wise. There are times
- 3:56S3: where you can just say, with a good conscience, I'm
- 3:59S3: going to focus on what I can agree with here,
- 4:01S3: or I'm going to take something that was said here
- 4:03S3: and start making a different point to kind of off ramp. Uh,
- 4:08S3: it's nuanced. And so yeah, you don't want to, because
- 4:11S3: depending on what the disagreements are or what the, the
- 4:15S3: incorrectness is, you don't want to just be thumping people
- 4:18S3: over the head right? Where the conversation's going to stop.
- 4:21S2: And you know what? If I were to talk long
- 4:23S2: enough and let's say that there I could, I could
- 4:27S2: very easily say something and misspeak or misquote, you know, 100%.
- 4:32S2: Absolutely have to be careful that we don't consider ourselves
- 4:34S2: kind of like the authority. The authority.
- 4:37S3: Right? I've never I've never messed up in saying anything. Yeah.
- 4:40S2: But it was such a great, great little conversation. I mean,
- 4:44S2: our interaction was probably a good 5 to 7 minutes.
- 4:48S2: I love that of just like talking about being a
- 4:50S2: believer and just the stuff of life. And I really,
- 4:55S2: really enjoy when those conversations happen spontaneously. And the subject
- 5:00S2: is somebody notices a Bible. I remember going for a
- 5:03S2: walk one time and I saw a woman and she
- 5:06S2: was out just outside reading her Bible, and I was like, hey.
- 5:13S3: Yeah.
- 5:13S2: And I was that person who stopped and was like,
- 5:16S2: I see you're reading your word. I think that's awesome. Yeah,
- 5:19S2: she probably thought I was absolutely insane.
- 5:21S3: Well, do you remember the story that, uh, that our manager, Matt,
- 5:25S3: told us in a meeting not too terribly long ago? Him,
- 5:27S3: he was driving his son out to California, and they
- 5:31S3: went they stopped at a gas station, and they saw
- 5:32S3: a woman outside reading her Bible. And he stopped and
- 5:35S3: he just said, what's God saying to you today? And
- 5:38S3: they had a conversation about it, and they found out that,
- 5:41S3: you know, her husband had just died. She was all
- 5:43S3: by herself and her car was broken down and she
- 5:44S3: couldn't get a ride to where she needed to go.
- 5:47S3: And his family, Obviously with some safety and some guidance
- 5:51S3: from the Lord. Uh, took this woman and drove her
- 5:55S3: hours to where she needed to go. And they just
- 5:58S3: had conversations about the Lord the entire way.
- 6:01S2: It's pretty incredible.
- 6:02S3: And I thought that was so cool. Just because just
- 6:04S3: because this woman was reading her Bible and he stopped
- 6:06S3: to acknowledge it.
- 6:07S2: I would love to hear from you. This is just
- 6:09S2: kind of one of those spontaneous things, but do you
- 6:12S2: have a story of something interesting that happened over an
- 6:15S2: open Bible? You were reading a Bible and it sparked
- 6:18S2: a conversation. Or maybe you noticed somebody else reading a Bible.
- 6:22S2: What is the thing? The story around the open Bible
- 6:25S2: in a public space? Tell me about it. Do you
- 6:28S2: have a story? 805. Five five, 78, 98, 805 557898.
- 6:35S2: What happened when you or someone you know, someone you
- 6:39S2: met had a Bible open in public?
- 6:41S1: 805 557898 it's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
- 6:48S2: Well, I want to hear a story from you about
- 6:50S2: what happened around an open Bible. Now I'm talking about
- 6:54S2: those spontaneous moments. You're not reading so that somebody says something. Sure.
- 7:00S2: You've got the word open, or somebody else has the
- 7:02S2: word open and a conversation results. Give me a call.
- 7:06S2: 805 557898. Frankie. Calling in from right here in Chicago.
- 7:12S2: What happened around an open Bible.
- 7:15S5: So, hey, how you doing? I was, um, a new
- 7:18S5: believer in the pandemic, uh, came to God with a
- 7:21S5: Bible on my own. And, uh, I was a very, say,
- 7:25S5: punk rock kid wearing all black tattoos and, uh, kind
- 7:28S5: of shyly one night reading the Bible on my porch.
- 7:32S5: And I hit it as a friend came back past, uh,
- 7:35S5: someone who I'd met recently. And he says, what are
- 7:39S5: you reading? As if there's any other book that looks
- 7:41S5: like that. And, uh, when I told him, I found
- 7:44S5: out he played guitar at a church. Months later, he
- 7:47S5: invited me to church, and by the very next week
- 7:50S5: I had been serving playing guitar since.
- 7:53S2: Amazing.
- 7:54S3: That's so cool.
- 7:55S2: Wow. You're right. That one other Bible or one other
- 7:58S2: book looks like that. It's pretty distinct looking. Frankie, I
- 8:01S2: love that story. Thank you. Let's go to Ellie calling
- 8:04S2: in from Mundelein, Illinois. What happened around an open Bible? Ellie.
- 8:09S6: Well. Hello, Ellie. Uh, so, uh, I had not thought
- 8:13S6: of this story in many years, and it came to
- 8:15S6: me last week. So it's so funny that I'm talking
- 8:18S6: about it today. So I was on my way downtown.
- 8:21S6: I was reading my Bible, I'm on the train, and
- 8:24S6: there was this younger man there and a young man. And, um,
- 8:31S6: he asked me what I was doing and what I
- 8:33S6: was reading. And so I said, I'm reading my Bible.
- 8:36S6: And he was like, well, the Bible. And we, it
- 8:40S6: went into this conversation about he was having some trouble
- 8:44S6: in his marriage, and I had been in a. My
- 8:47S6: husband and I were in a Bible marriage study, and
- 8:51S6: so I was just sharing with him about that and
- 8:53S6: God's goodness and grace, and I showed him some places
- 8:57S6: in the Bible that would help him if he wanted
- 9:00S6: to read the Bible. And he said, I don't have
- 9:02S6: a Bible. And so I ended up giving him my Bible.
- 9:05S6: And I and I often have wondered whatever happened with him, but, uh,
- 9:10S6: to give him that Bible was so I knew it
- 9:14S6: was what God wanted me to do. It was so spontaneous.
- 9:17S6: And that conversation was so sweet. And of course, I
- 9:20S6: never heard from him again. But I do wonder, you.
- 9:24S2: Know.
- 9:25S6: That little seed that was planted. But it was so
- 9:27S6: cool to me, I just. Isn't it wonderful how the
- 9:30S6: Lord is so great about when we do something and
- 9:33S6: we listen, uh, to that obedience better than sacrifice, that
- 9:37S6: he just blesses us so much.
- 9:39S2: I love that. Ellie from Mundelein, Illinois. Yeah. I mean,
- 9:43S2: and that's and it's cool that you that you and
- 9:45S2: your husband were doing a marriage Bible study. So there
- 9:47S2: was fresh content.
- 9:49S3: God sets it all.
- 9:50S2: Up, man. Let's go to Newton calling in from Naperville, Illinois.
- 9:54S2: What happened around an open Bible? Tell me your story.
- 9:57S7: Yes. Hi. Thanks for taking my call. It was more
- 10:00S7: of I was on, um, you know, plane, um, uh,
- 10:04S7: in the plane. Uh, it's airport and plane is a
- 10:06S7: nice place, but so I was in the middle seat and, um,
- 10:12S7: the wife is next to me and the husband on
- 10:14S7: the across the other aisle seat. And then, um, I
- 10:18S7: noticed that the husband, um, bring you up. It was
- 10:22S7: not a Bible, it was Torah, but, uh, again, it
- 10:25S7: was just a open book. It's Torah or Bible, but
- 10:29S7: it's still an open holy book. And he was reading and, uh,
- 10:33S7: caught my attention. I made conversation, I let him read
- 10:37S7: and whatever, but later on I talked with wife. Try
- 10:40S7: to make conversation like this is like, great. I can
- 10:43S7: evangelize to Jewish fellow people, but I was excited and
- 10:47S7: I'm trying to bring the Abraham and New Testament Old
- 10:51S7: Testament Romans trying to plant those seeds and, um, but
- 10:55S7: realize that yeah, she is like a math teacher in a,
- 10:59S7: in a Jewish school, high school. And also I know
- 11:03S7: I'm dealing with a pretty strong Orthodox Jewish family, but still,
- 11:08S7: I pray for them once in a while. It's like, uh, okay.
- 11:11S7: But then it does it encourage me also, I, we
- 11:15S7: used to just, you know, like over the meal, you
- 11:17S7: just do a quick prayer before take off. I would
- 11:20S7: just pray to myself or with the family. Um, but it's, I,
- 11:26S7: I used to have a smaller pocket Bible but encouraged
- 11:29S7: me that, hey, it's okay to be bold and, uh,
- 11:32S7: take out my Bible and read in the public places.
- 11:35S2: So I love that Newton from Naperville. Thank you so
- 11:38S2: much for sharing that this morning. You know, it's it's
- 11:41S2: amazing how an open Bible is often leads to a
- 11:44S2: like opens the door for a conversation.
- 11:46S3: Absolutely. It's a great start. And you know what the
- 11:49S3: the Torah is, is a part of the Bible. And
- 11:53S3: I think of what Jesus says, uh, I don't remember
- 11:56S3: who he's talking to, but he says, you are not
- 11:57S3: far off from the kingdom of God. Like you're, you're
- 12:00S3: very close. And we just need to let's now let's
- 12:04S3: tell you about Jesus and what he wants to do. Exactly.
- 12:06S2: Yeah. What happened around an open Bible? You had your
- 12:10S2: Bible open, or maybe you noticed someone else with an
- 12:13S2: open Bible. You have a story you want to share 805, five, five, 78, 98.
- 12:19S1: Get to know the team behind the scenes. Follow Carl
- 12:22S1: and crew on Facebook and Instagram.
- 12:25S2: You had a Bible open in a public place. Or
- 12:28S2: maybe you noticed someone else did and a conversation resulted.
- 12:32S2: I'm asking you this question today. What happened when there
- 12:36S2: was an open Bible in public? You reading someone else reading?
- 12:40S2: Let's go to Joyce. First time caller from Carol stream, Illinois.
- 12:43S2: Tell me about the Open Bible and what happened next.
- 12:48S8: So I was coming back from Florida. I had just
- 12:51S8: been taking care of my dad who had a stroke,
- 12:53S8: was completely exhausted, was on the airplane, and had my
- 12:57S8: Bible open just trying to decompress. And a woman next
- 13:01S8: to me was, um, looking at me and saying, oh,
- 13:05S8: I see you have the Bible open. And I was like, oh,
- 13:07S8: I just did not want to talk to anybody. I
- 13:10S8: was so tired. So I was like, 911 Lord 911.
- 13:14S8: And so and it turned out she was a Jehovah's Witness.
- 13:18S8: And um, yeah, so I have a little bit of
- 13:21S8: understanding of, of Jehovah's Witness and what they believe. And
- 13:25S8: so I was kind of like, oh boy. So I
- 13:27S8: really needed the Lord's strength to, to talk to her.
- 13:30S8: So we ended up talking for a while. I was
- 13:32S8: in the film. So I was like, you know, talking
- 13:34S8: a lot about praising the Lord. And then we kind
- 13:37S8: of got into the gospel. And, and at one point
- 13:41S8: I could tell she shut down because I think she
- 13:43S8: knew I knew a little too much, maybe for her,
- 13:46S8: her own interest. So she kind of stopped. But I
- 13:49S8: was hoping that, you know, I planted some seeds in
- 13:52S8: the process.
- 13:53S2: Joyce, first time caller from Carol stream, Illinois. And I
- 13:56S2: think we've all had that moment, if we're honest, where
- 13:59S2: we feel like, oh, I don't really want to do
- 14:01S2: this today.
- 14:02S3: 100%.
- 14:03S2: I've had that.
- 14:04S3: Yes, I've had that.
- 14:06S2: And and the and yet the Lord gracious, when we
- 14:08S2: submit that to him, he graciously helps us push past
- 14:11S2: our own. Whether it's fatigue, discomfort, fear. I don't really
- 14:17S2: know if I'm ready for this conversation.
- 14:19S3: Exactly.
- 14:20S2: Way to go, Joyce. Let's go to Bedford. First time
- 14:23S2: caller from Cleveland, Ohio. Tell me your story. What happened
- 14:26S2: when the Bible was opened in public?
- 14:29S9: Actually, I'm in Cleveland, Tennessee.
- 14:31S2: Oh, sorry about that. Cleveland, Tennessee. Go ahead.
- 14:35S9: So let me tell you this story. Uh, I was
- 14:37S9: trained as a Spanish linguist in the Army, and back
- 14:40S9: in 1977, I was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.
- 14:45S9: One Friday night, the men from my church went downtown
- 14:50S9: Panama City to pass out tracks to servicemen in the
- 14:55S9: bar area. While I was standing on the corner there,
- 14:57S9: I looked down a side street and it was dark,
- 15:00S9: and there was one Panamanian standing there looking in a window,
- 15:05S9: and I felt prompted to go down and talk to him. Well,
- 15:07S9: I had never shared the gospel in Spanish before, but
- 15:11S9: I went and I thought, what am I going to say?
- 15:14S9: When I got there, he was at a bookstore and
- 15:17S9: there on the on the display was a Bible.
- 15:20S8: Wow.
- 15:21S9: So I said to him, do you like to read?
- 15:25S9: Obvious question. He said, yeah. I said, have you read
- 15:27S9: the Bible? And he said, well, I have, but I
- 15:30S9: don't understand it. I need somebody to explain it to me.
- 15:33S2: Wow.
- 15:33S9: So I thought about the Ethiopian eunuch.
- 15:35S2: Yes.
- 15:36S9: And so I shared the gospel with him. And he
- 15:39S9: accepted the Lord right there in the street. He prayed.
- 15:43S9: He later on, uh, he shared with his wife. His
- 15:47S9: wife got saved. And they became leaders in the local
- 15:50S9: Panamanian church there.
- 15:52S2: Wow.
- 15:52S9: That was the first time I'd ever shared the gospel
- 15:54S9: in Spanish.
- 15:55S2: Bedford. First time caller from Cleveland, Tennessee.
- 15:58S3: That's incredible.
- 15:59S2: Incredible. First time sharing it. Not in your native language.
- 16:03S3: That's so scary, man.
- 16:04S2: That's the Lord gives you courage for those moments. Dave
- 16:07S2: from Wheeling, Illinois. Tell me what happened around an open
- 16:10S2: Bible in public.
- 16:12S10: Yeah, our men's group meets at Starbucks. So we were
- 16:14S10: sitting there and at least one of us fossils there
- 16:17S10: brings a book with paper pages and everything. Not the phone.
- 16:20S2: Dave, did you say fossils?
- 16:23S11: Fossils. Yeah. Go ahead.
- 16:27S10: And, uh, so the barista noticed that. And so she goes,
- 16:31S10: so you our church guys? Yeah, we go to a church.
- 16:34S10: We told her about our church and she kept paying
- 16:37S10: attention to us. And after a while, she actually came
- 16:40S10: to visit our church a couple of times, brought her
- 16:42S10: best friend.
- 16:43S2: That's amazing. Dave from Wheeling, Illinois, a barista who notices
- 16:46S2: an open Bible and says, huh? Come on, maybe I'll
- 16:49S2: check out your church.
- 16:50S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
- 16:53S2: You know, when we think about how Jesus taught, it's
- 16:57S2: incredible the way he wasn't just giving information to people,
- 17:03S2: he was exposing the condition of people's hearts.
- 17:07S3: Yeah, absolutely.
- 17:08S2: And some people were receptive to hearing what he had
- 17:12S2: to say. But many weren't.
- 17:15S3: Most weren't.
- 17:16S2: Most weren't correct.
- 17:18S3: Even if they were impressed by the way he taught.
- 17:20S2: Amazed, astonished what gracious words were coming out of his mouth.
- 17:26S2: But when it came down to it, he was saying
- 17:29S2: things that a lot of people didn't want to hear.
- 17:32S3: Absolutely. I mean, you think about after he fed the
- 17:36S3: 5000 and he's gone and a bunch of people are
- 17:39S3: following him, even even performing miracles, people people didn't follow
- 17:44S3: him because they thought he was the savior. You know
- 17:46S3: that it says that the people who he fed continued
- 17:49S3: to follow him because he fed them. Yeah. Only because
- 17:52S3: he gave them food. That was it. They just wanted
- 17:54S3: more food. And and he's got the 12 there. He's
- 17:58S3: got other disciples there who have been following him for
- 18:00S3: a while. And he gives the teaching about, you know,
- 18:04S3: you must eat of my body and drink of my blood.
- 18:07S3: And people were so weirded out by that that they
- 18:12S3: left him, his disciples, the people who had been walking
- 18:15S3: with him, left him. And, and so most people heard
- 18:20S3: Jesus's words and were turned off by them.
- 18:23S2: So one of the ways that he taught often was
- 18:27S2: the use of parables. Yes. Simple stories with a spiritual application,
- 18:35S2: stories that would be the elements of them at least
- 18:39S2: would be familiar to his listeners, to his audience, whether
- 18:43S2: it was farming, agricultural, digging up a pearl, like they
- 18:47S2: were very simple on its face. So why, though, were
- 18:53S2: was an entire group of people unable to understand what
- 18:58S2: he had to say, even seemingly simple, straightforward parables? Totally
- 19:03S2: not understandable. And that was intentional. I'll explain more coming up.
- 19:09S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
- 19:12S1: This is Carl and Crew on Moody Radio.
- 19:16S2: We're talking about parables this morning. Jesus taught in parables.
- 19:19S2: There were these simple stories that illustrated a spiritual lesson
- 19:23S2: or principle. And here's the the thing that in initially
- 19:30S2: can be hard to accept about the parables, that Jesus
- 19:34S2: was intentional with the fact that those who were receptive
- 19:39S2: to him would understand and their eyes would be open
- 19:43S2: to a spiritual truth. But for those who were not,
- 19:48S2: they would not be able to see it.
- 19:50S3: Right?
- 19:50S2: So it was intentionally like, have you ever have you
- 19:55S2: ever been around somebody or they're kind of speaking in code?
- 19:58S3: Yeah, absolutely. You it's like, uh, like when I am
- 20:02S3: talking to my wife and I don't want my two
- 20:05S3: year old to understand because I don't want her to
- 20:07S3: get excited about something that may not happen. So we
- 20:10S3: start saying things or spelling things because she can't. So
- 20:13S3: she hears it, but she can't understand what we're saying.
- 20:16S2: And so on. On one hand, you could go, man, well,
- 20:19S2: why didn't Jesus just make it as plain as possible? Sure.
- 20:23S2: Why would he speak in a way where he knew
- 20:25S2: that some people would not be able to understand what
- 20:28S2: he's saying? It's a it's a reasonable question, right? So
- 20:32S2: we see Jesus answer this question of his disciples to
- 20:36S2: a certain degree. They ask him, like what? First, what
- 20:39S2: does the parable mean? And kind of like, why? Why parables?
- 20:42S2: Luke eight verse ten says, he said to you, it
- 20:46S2: has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom
- 20:49S2: of God, but for others they are in parables, so
- 20:51S2: that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may
- 20:54S2: not understand. I read a couple of different commentaries on
- 20:58S2: this one. This is my favorite quote. This was from
- 21:01S2: the ESV study Bible says the parables blind those who
- 21:05S2: have resisted God's revelation while helping those who have believe it. Interesting, right?
- 21:12S3: It is interesting. It's those who have hardened their hearts
- 21:16S3: against God aren't going to get it.
- 21:18S2: And he's okay with that.
- 21:19S3: And he's okay with that.
- 21:21S2: But the ones who are receptive to it, and the disciples,
- 21:23S2: even though they didn't immediately know what the parable went there, meant,
- 21:27S2: their hearts were soft enough to ask the question 100%.
- 21:31S2: So can you explain this? So the parable of the sower,
- 21:35S2: this is the first recorded parable in Scripture, verse four,
- 21:39S2: Luke eight. And when a great crowd was gathering and
- 21:42S2: people from town after town came to him, he said
- 21:45S2: in a parable, a sower went out to sow his seed,
- 21:47S2: and as he sowed, some fell along the path and
- 21:50S2: was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air
- 21:52S2: devoured it, and some fell on the rock. And as
- 21:55S2: it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture.
- 21:58S2: And some fell among thorns. And the thorns grew up
- 22:01S2: with it and choked it. And some fell into good
- 22:03S2: soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. And as he
- 22:07S2: said these things, he called out, he who has ears
- 22:09S2: to hear, let him hear. So the sower here Jesus,
- 22:15S2: or a secondary application would be anyone who is preaching
- 22:18S2: the gospel, scattering the seed, which is the Word of God. Yes,
- 22:24S2: the soil, the four different types of soil represents four
- 22:28S2: different heart conditions of people. The explanation of this parable.
- 22:35S2: I love that for this one, Jesus made the explanation
- 22:38S2: as clear as he possibly could for the.
- 22:41S3: Disciples.
- 22:41S2: Who asked, so what are these four different types of soil,
- 22:45S2: these four different types of hearts that I'm sure you
- 22:48S2: could probably identify, maybe from your own story, but certainly
- 22:52S2: in people you know, we'll explain it coming up.
- 22:55S1: Standing on the rock each and every day. You're listening
- 23:00S1: to Carl and Crew.
- 23:01S2: So this parable of the sower, the first recorded parable
- 23:05S2: in Scripture and pretty straightforward, right? A sower sows seed.
- 23:10S2: It falls along four different types of soil with four
- 23:14S2: different types of results. And so when the disciples ask him,
- 23:18S2: what does this mean? He spells it out for him,
- 23:21S2: starting with Luke eight, verse 11. This is recorded in
- 23:24S2: three of the Gospels. I'm reading the Luke account now.
- 23:26S2: The parable is this. Jesus tells them the seed is
- 23:29S2: the Word of God. The ones along the path are
- 23:32S2: those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes
- 23:34S2: away the word from their hearts, so that they may
- 23:36S2: not believe and be saved. And the ones on the
- 23:39S2: rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive
- 23:41S2: it with joy. But these have no root. They believe
- 23:44S2: for a while and in time of testing fall away.
- 23:47S2: And as for what fell among the thorns, they are
- 23:50S2: those who hear. But as they go on their way,
- 23:52S2: they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures
- 23:55S2: of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that,
- 23:58S2: in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word,
- 24:01S2: hold it fast in an honest and good heart and
- 24:04S2: bear fruit with patience. One of the other accounts talks
- 24:07S2: about the bearing fruit. 30, 60, 100 fold, I think.
- 24:12S2: Are the numbers given there? Okay. So these four different
- 24:16S2: types of hearts. The first one is the soil, the
- 24:21S2: the seed that falls along the path. This is the
- 24:24S2: hard heart. No receptivity whatsoever.
- 24:27S3: Yeah. That one feels kind of obvious.
- 24:29S2: So the enemy Satan comes and just snatches it up,
- 24:33S2: preventing that person from hearing, believing and being saved. Yes.
- 24:39S2: Then it gets a little tricky from there, right?
- 24:41S3: Yeah.
- 24:41S2: Because then we move on to the rocky ground, the
- 24:45S2: rocky soil. And this is the person who hears it initially.
- 24:51S2: There's joy, but there's no root.
- 24:54S3: Mhm.
- 24:55S2: And so when adversity comes, when the time of testing comes,
- 25:00S2: it reveals that there was not genuine salvation there.
- 25:04S3: Correct.
- 25:05S2: In time of testing, they fall away. Goes on.
- 25:11S3: Harder.
- 25:12S2: We went from the rocky ground to the thorny soil.
- 25:15S2: Those who hear. They go on their way and they
- 25:21S2: are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life.
- 25:25S2: And their fruit does not mature. I'm not sure which
- 25:28S2: one is harder to accept. The one where hardship, adversity
- 25:32S2: drives them away, or one where the cares and pleasures
- 25:36S2: and riches of this life. I think I think the
- 25:40S2: toughest one is the thorny soil.
- 25:42S3: I think so too. I think they're both common in
- 25:45S3: a sense. You know, I you think about the the
- 25:50S3: emotional experience that sometimes going to, especially when you're a kid,
- 25:56S3: you know, sometimes going to a camp or going to a,
- 25:59S3: a worship concert or something, sometimes that can create in
- 26:02S3: your heart this immediately receiving it with joy. Uh, but
- 26:07S3: then it's not really rooted in anything. And so as
- 26:10S3: soon as a hard thing comes, you're kind of thinking,
- 26:13S3: I thought I was promised this and this and this.
- 26:16S3: I'm done with this because this isn't as easy as
- 26:18S3: I thought it was gonna be. And but I think
- 26:21S3: you're right. I think in the West, a lot of
- 26:24S3: it especially is, is the thorny soil because because there
- 26:29S3: are parts of life that are really good, that are fun.
- 26:33S3: But we, we make a grave mistake when we take
- 26:37S3: the good things in life and make them way more
- 26:40S3: important than they're supposed to be. Yeah. You know, and
- 26:42S3: I think that that's something that we all, we all
- 26:44S3: struggle with. And I think this is important to say too,
- 26:47S3: if you don't mind, Ali, because it's not to say
- 26:52S3: that if you if something bad happens and you get
- 26:57S3: upset with God that you are a rocky soil person,
- 27:00S3: or you get distracted, and maybe you're convicted that you've
- 27:04S3: been spending too much time in entertainment or sports or
- 27:08S3: social media or something like that. And you're like, oh no,
- 27:11S3: am I a thorny soil person? AM I not even save?
- 27:13S3: Because I do this? We are all sinful people and
- 27:17S3: we're going to make mistakes. So sometimes you may be
- 27:21S3: upset with God because of something that happened, or sometimes
- 27:25S3: you may be way too distracted over here and need
- 27:27S3: to come back and refocus yourself. That is not saying
- 27:31S3: you do this and you're just not saved. It is
- 27:35S3: a pattern of life. It is a recognition for the
- 27:39S3: for the rocky soil person. I'm done with this because
- 27:43S3: this isn't what you promised me or what I thought
- 27:45S3: I was going to get out of it. And then
- 27:48S3: for the thorny soil person, it's a, it's a continuous.
- 27:51S3: Like I don't have time to focus over here because
- 27:54S3: this is what I want. Whether you're saying that with
- 27:56S3: your mouth or with your heart, this is what I
- 27:58S3: want to do. So this is where I'm going to
- 28:00S3: focus all my time. For me, it was before I
- 28:02S3: was saved. It was, I believe in God, but I
- 28:04S3: just want to do what I want to do right now.
- 28:05S3: That's the pattern of life that I lived that was
- 28:08S3: not exemplary of salvation. That was exemplary of a thorny
- 28:11S3: soil person.
- 28:12S2: Yeah. No, that's that's a great point. This is not
- 28:14S2: this is I think that this is a sobering passage
- 28:17S2: of Scripture, but this is not a be careful because
- 28:20S2: you could lose your salvation passage of Scripture. That would
- 28:23S2: be a absolute wrong application here. But the fact is
- 28:27S2: that there is only one soil that's described as good soil,
- 28:32S2: that here's the word that holds it fast in an
- 28:34S2: honest and good heart, and ultimately bears fruit. So the, the,
- 28:38S2: I guess the, the test here is the fruit because
- 28:42S2: none of the other types of soil, none of the
- 28:46S2: other ground was able to bear any kind of fruit.
- 28:49S2: The other the the thorny soil, the fruit does not
- 28:52S2: mature exactly. The only fruit bearing true fruit bearing posture
- 28:58S2: was the one that received the word held on to
- 29:01S2: the word, and ultimately was able to bear fruit. So
- 29:06S2: I think that this is a this is sobering because
- 29:10S2: we can see it in our own hearts, in our
- 29:12S2: own stories. Yes. Right where we were at different times
- 29:16S2: prior to really genuinely being in Christ. We can also
- 29:20S2: we all know people who seemed like they were with us.
- 29:25S3: Mhm. And then all of a sudden they weren't.
- 29:29S2: Then they weren't. And you go, how does that happen? Well,
- 29:32S2: I think this this passage of Scripture illuminates how easy
- 29:35S2: it is for it to happen that for three out
- 29:38S2: of the four soils, there was a falling away.
- 29:41S3: Yeah, 100%. I mean, that's that is a good point
- 29:47S3: that three out of the four soils are ones that
- 29:50S3: fall away because, you know, I mean, come on, Judas
- 29:55S3: was in the group Jesus's closest 12. And he most
- 30:02S3: definitely received the gospel with joy at the beginning. But
- 30:08S3: it's very obvious that he didn't take root and didn't
- 30:11S3: bear any fruit.
- 30:12S2: So Jesus makes clear to the disciples when he explains,
- 30:17S2: even back to the beginning of this little section, when
- 30:20S2: he tells them why he speaks in parables. He says
- 30:23S2: to you, it has been given to know the secrets
- 30:26S2: of the kingdom of God. That's something to rejoice in,
- 30:30S2: that we have been given the ability. Our eyes have
- 30:33S2: been opened, our hearts have been softened to where we
- 30:36S2: can receive. That's something to praise him for. Yes, because
- 30:40S2: that's a gift. We didn't make our own hearts receptive.
- 30:44S3: It wasn't because you're so awesome. Yeah.
- 30:45S2: He did. He drew us to himself. He. It's all
- 30:49S2: about him. So we don't take credit for any of it. Nope.
- 30:54S2: We thank God, and we ask him to continue to
- 30:57S2: keep our hearts soft so that when we hear and
- 31:00S2: receive the word, we can have ears to hear back
- 31:03S2: to our weak. Remember we talked about the senses? Yes,
- 31:06S2: we want to have ears to hear what the spirit
- 31:09S2: is saying. We want to have eyes to be able
- 31:11S2: to see and discern what's happening, not just in the
- 31:15S2: natural sense, but in the supernatural sense. It's a gift
- 31:18S2: from God. Check out this parable, The Parable of the sower,
- 31:22S2: the first recorded parable in all of Scripture. It's in
- 31:26S2: three of the Gospels worth looking at today.
- 31:30S1: Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight.
- 31:34S1: Super dye is in the crew. It's curl and crew
- 31:38S1: on Moody Radio.
- 31:40S2: It is back to school week here on Carl and Crew.
- 31:42S2: And this is oh, this is so fun. When we
- 31:44S2: get to do this, we get to bring in professors
- 31:46S2: from right here at Moody Bible Institute. We are on
- 31:49S2: the campus here in Chicago, and several professors volunteered to
- 31:53S2: pop in studio or to jump on a call and
- 31:56S2: to help teach us some of what they're going to
- 31:59S2: be teaching in their class this semester. So it's an
- 32:01S2: opportunity for some real learning for us who are not
- 32:04S2: students anymore, but we're always learning. Peter Worrell joining us,
- 32:08S2: professor of educational ministries at the Moody Bible Institute. Today
- 32:11S2: we're going to be talking about Worldview, your class this semester,
- 32:15S2: Faith and learning. So it's all about worldview. So first
- 32:19S2: define what is a worldview. And do we all have
- 32:22S2: one by default?
- 32:23S12: Yes. So everybody has one. Not everybody knows they have one.
- 32:27S12: So worldview is the way that you look at the world.
- 32:30S12: Obviously worldview. It comes from the German actually Weltanschauung, which
- 32:35S12: in English is said Weltanschauung, which actually is an English word,
- 32:41S12: but people don't use it.
- 32:42S2: I've never heard it. I've never used it.
- 32:45S12: Yeah. So we just use worldview because it's a little
- 32:47S12: bit easier. So we use the word worldview. And the
- 32:50S12: worldview is either the stories, the foundational stories that give
- 32:54S12: you the the impetus for your life or. It's often
- 32:58S12: seen as the philosophical questions you ask yourselves, like, what
- 33:02S12: do I value? Is there a God? Those foundational questions
- 33:06S12: that you can ask yourself. So there's two ways to
- 33:08S12: look at worldview. One is a narrative, and then one
- 33:11S12: is a series of philosophical questions. However, the people who
- 33:15S12: ask themselves those philosophical questions don't even know they're practicing philosophy.
- 33:19S12: They just carry on and they think, well, I value
- 33:23S12: this and I value that, but they don't know that
- 33:25S12: that's actually philosophy.
- 33:26S2: You said that everybody has one, but not everybody knows
- 33:30S2: that they have one. So how much of for the
- 33:33S2: average person, if we were to walk out on the
- 33:35S2: streets of Chicago, how quickly would we be able to
- 33:39S2: determine someone's worldview, even if they'd never heard the word worldview?
- 33:43S2: Or I even asked some of those big questions?
- 33:45S12: Yes. Well, I actually do send my students out.
- 33:48S2: Oh, really?
- 33:49S12: To ask people those big questions. So there's about 7
- 33:52S12: or 8 questions. It's not all of a worldview, but
- 33:54S12: it's a big part of a worldview. And then they'll
- 33:57S12: go out and they'll go into the local parks, they'll
- 33:59S12: go to a Starbucks, they'll go different places, and they'll say, hey,
- 34:03S12: what do you value the most? Is there a God
- 34:05S12: or some supreme being in your life? Can nature be trusted?
- 34:10S12: And these kinds of questions all come out, and then
- 34:13S12: they'll get an idea of where this person's coming from.
- 34:16S12: And actually, in America right now, most people are heavily
- 34:20S12: influenced by postmodernism. They don't know that they're postmodern. They
- 34:24S12: don't even know what postmodernism is. But they're heavily influenced
- 34:29S12: by the idea that, well, you've got your truth and
- 34:31S12: I've got my truth. I'm not going to dogmatically tell
- 34:35S12: you to to have my truth. And you can't dogmatically
- 34:39S12: tell me to believe your truth. And what we believe
- 34:42S12: doesn't really matter, because we're all individuals going on our
- 34:45S12: own way. But postmodernism is decaying, says Carl Truman, into
- 34:52S12: nihilism and nihilism is a belief in nothing. And actually,
- 34:57S12: there's an increasing number of people entering into despair in
- 35:00S12: America because they've realized going through postmodernity that they've got
- 35:04S12: to nihilism and nothing matters. Nobody cares, how can I?
- 35:08S12: And these questions are big questions that drive them in
- 35:11S12: that direction.
- 35:12S2: Well, we've talked some about the, the your truth, my truth,
- 35:16S2: which that has been kind of a dominant, I would say,
- 35:20S2: worldview over the last 5 to 10 years, for sure,
- 35:24S2: and a growing intolerance for anybody who would suggest that
- 35:29S2: there's any form of absolute truth. There's a little bit
- 35:31S2: of an irony.
- 35:32S12: Isn't that ironic?
- 35:33S2: Yes, yes. So why do you think it is that
- 35:37S2: we're moving towards nihilism? I mean, is that like what,
- 35:41S2: what causes a culture to make that shift? Is it
- 35:44S2: just a overall godlessness? And that's the result.
- 35:48S12: Well, some people would say it started with Nietzsche in
- 35:52S12: the 19th century. So Nietzsche said, look, we don't need
- 35:56S12: God anymore. God is dead. And if God is dead,
- 35:59S12: then a universal madness is going to break out. And
- 36:03S12: he actually called people to become supermen or Übermensch supermen.
- 36:08S12: And they would then judge society and they would decide
- 36:12S12: then what they liked and what they didn't like. But
- 36:14S12: there was no actual eternal value because God was dead. Well,
- 36:19S12: people kept applying and looking at Christian values and doing
- 36:23S12: all kinds of Christian thinking. But in the last 20 years,
- 36:27S12: it's gone haywire. And Nietzsche's dream has kind of become true.
- 36:31S12: But it isn't a dream. It's a nightmare. And so
- 36:35S12: people are just thinking all kinds of crazy ideas and saying, well,
- 36:39S12: just leave me alone while I go mad in a
- 36:41S12: corner over here.
- 36:42S2: Oh, man. We've got Peter Worrell with us this morning,
- 36:46S2: professor here at Moody Bible Institute. Talk to me about
- 36:48S2: social imaginary. That's a new phrase that you're introducing, at
- 36:52S2: least to me this morning, maybe to others of our listeners.
- 36:55S12: So the social imaginary is something that Charles Taylor has
- 36:59S12: put together, and he was thinking about the society that
- 37:04S12: we live in and how societies have a way of
- 37:07S12: making you think like them. So there's many Christians, for example,
- 37:12S12: who wouldn't share the gospel. Now, does Christianity tell us
- 37:17S12: to share the gospel? You do it on this radio
- 37:19S12: show all the time?
- 37:20S2: Absolutely.
- 37:21S12: We learn at Moody to share the gospel, but there's
- 37:23S12: many people. Oh, no, I couldn't share the gospel. Well,
- 37:26S12: why couldn't you share the gospel? Oh, that would be
- 37:29S12: too dogmatic. That would be too. You know, I might
- 37:31S12: tell them what I believe, but I'm not going to
- 37:33S12: insist that they believe it or tell them that there's
- 37:35S12: going to be a difference for them. Well, that thought
- 37:38S12: doesn't come out of Christianity. It comes out of our society.
- 37:41S12: So the society imagines something and then thinks, no, you
- 37:45S12: can believe what you believe and you believe. But don't
- 37:47S12: get dogmatic about this. And when they think that that
- 37:50S12: kind of peters down into the way that everybody thinks,
- 37:54S12: they don't know how they got there, but they just
- 37:57S12: got there.
- 37:58S2: It's I'm interested to hear like, when you come, obviously
- 38:01S2: you're just getting to know your students from this semester.
- 38:03S2: But when you've taught in past classes, how much discovery
- 38:07S2: happens even among your own students who they come to.
- 38:11S2: Moody Bible Institute. Many were raised in a Christian home. Yeah.
- 38:16S2: Or certainly came to faith in Christ at some point
- 38:19S2: in time before arriving at Moody Bible Institute. But not
- 38:23S2: always Jonathan's story. We've heard not every person who comes
- 38:27S2: to Bible college is a genuine follower of Jesus. Another
- 38:31S2: testimony for another day. I'll just throw that in.
- 38:33S12: Well, I use it in my class. Do you? Oh,
- 38:35S12: I do.
- 38:35S2: Oh, okay. Well, we'll put a pin in that and
- 38:37S2: we'll get back to it. But. So how much of
- 38:40S2: there is there a discovery of. Oh, boy, there are
- 38:43S2: some things that I thought that I believed that maybe
- 38:46S2: my actions suggest otherwise. Do you find that that happens often?
- 38:51S12: Well, some students come to Moody because they have Christianity
- 38:55S12: worked out and everything. Christian they already know, but they
- 38:58S12: need a certificate, so they want to come to Moody
- 39:00S12: to get the certificate. And then when they get here,
- 39:03S12: they find that they're learning things that they didn't anticipate
- 39:06S12: that they'd actually be learning. Yeah, and that's a good thing.
- 39:09S12: I don't think we're ever done with learning. I don't
- 39:11S12: think we ever can switch that off. So if somebody
- 39:14S12: came to Moody and they thought they were done, I
- 39:16S12: want them to realize that they've really got to learn.
- 39:19S12: Some students come into my class with their attitude, and
- 39:22S12: what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to break in,
- 39:25S12: and I'm trying to show them that they don't think
- 39:28S12: rightly yet.
- 39:29S2: Mhm.
- 39:30S12: One of the things is that a lot of people
- 39:32S12: who've looked at worldview will say, well, this is the
- 39:34S12: post-modern worldview. This is the naturalist worldview, a different one. Oh,
- 39:38S12: and this is Christianity. And they'll lay out Christianity, and
- 39:42S12: the person who looks at it will say, well, I
- 39:44S12: believe that. I believe that, I believe that. Yes, but
- 39:46S12: what happens when you don't? So I will I will
- 39:50S12: confess that I have been pulled over by the police
- 39:54S12: once for driving a little too fast.
- 39:56S2: Okay.
- 39:57S12: When I was driving a little too fast, I wasn't
- 39:59S12: praising Jesus. I wasn't even thinking about Jesus until I
- 40:04S12: saw the flashing lights in my rear view mirror and
- 40:06S12: realized I had to pull over because I was going
- 40:08S12: a little above the speed limit. So what was I doing? Well,
- 40:12S12: I was thinking, I want to be home with my wife. Actually,
- 40:14S12: at that time I had had a stroke and I
- 40:17S12: really wanted to be with her, and I was going
- 40:19S12: a little fast to get home. That wasn't a Christian
- 40:22S12: way of thinking. It was probably hedonistic, which means pleasure
- 40:25S12: seeking or that kind of thing. And I actually was
- 40:28S12: wearing a moody T-shirt at the time, and I and
- 40:32S12: the police were going, how fast were you? I don't know.
- 40:36S12: And I'm thinking, oh my goodness, this looks so bad
- 40:38S12: for Moody. But the thing is that everybody has moments
- 40:43S12: when they're not thinking in the Christian worldview. And Jesus,
- 40:47S12: I would say, is the model. And Jesus thinks with
- 40:49S12: the absolute Christian worldview in every way of thinking. But
- 40:53S12: Doctor Kennedy out of Australia says that we should look
- 40:57S12: to wisdom to shape us, and it should shape us
- 40:59S12: towards the Christian worldview, which we won't actually get until
- 41:03S12: we die. So rewinding back to your question, I will
- 41:08S12: confess to the students that I don't have a Christian worldview.
- 41:11S12: I am Christian, but I don't have all the pieces
- 41:15S12: in place. I will die and have it put in place.
- 41:18S12: And that's called glorification. But I'm going through the process
- 41:22S12: of sanctification right now where I'm getting a little bit
- 41:25S12: better and a little bit better day by day. That
- 41:28S12: then when I confess that the students are like, maybe
- 41:32S12: I haven't arrived either. Maybe, maybe I've got to grow
- 41:36S12: to be more like Jesus. Wouldn't it be great if
- 41:39S12: we all grew to be more like Jesus? So I'm
- 41:42S12: not surrendering to that and saying, oh, we haven't got there.
- 41:45S12: Let's rest. What I'm doing is saying, we haven't got there.
- 41:48S12: Let's keep moving. Yeah. Let's love the Lord our God
- 41:51S12: with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And let's
- 41:54S12: love our neighbor as ourselves. That's Jesus command to us.
- 41:58S12: But so many of us don't realize that we're not
- 42:00S12: there yet.
- 42:01S2: Yeah.
- 42:02S12: And so the.
- 42:02S2: Belief itself is not the entirety of it. You could
- 42:08S2: believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant, infallible.
- 42:11S2: And for every single person listening starting in this room,
- 42:16S2: there are going to be areas of our life where
- 42:19S2: what we do in a moment does not actually line
- 42:24S2: up with what we profess to believe. Is that what
- 42:26S2: I hear?
- 42:27S12: I hear that's what you hear. And then the question is,
- 42:30S12: what worldview informed me that I did that? Yep. So
- 42:34S12: often for our students. They're in their teens and 20s.
- 42:40S12: There'll be a little bit of pleasure seeking that kind
- 42:42S12: of kicks in there. You know, for somebody who has
- 42:46S12: been influenced by naturalism, there'll be a whole scientific way
- 42:49S12: of thinking that'll kick in for somebody who's interested in
- 42:52S12: postmodernism but doesn't realize it. There'll be a little bit
- 42:56S12: of postmodernity that kicks in and makes sure that everybody
- 42:59S12: feels okay in the room. So there's all these worldviews
- 43:02S12: that are battling over my mind, and I want to
- 43:05S12: make sure that I'm walking with Jesus.
- 43:07S2: Yeah. So what's the big takeaway for the listener? I mean,
- 43:09S2: is this this fascinating stuff we could we. I love this,
- 43:13S2: but for the person listening, is it an awareness of
- 43:16S2: where there may be a dis, a disconnect or where
- 43:19S2: other worldviews or as you the social imaginary may have
- 43:23S2: crept in in ways that we aren't even aware of.
- 43:26S12: Well, there's something called the Johari window, which is a
- 43:29S12: concept that psychologists look at, and it just says that
- 43:32S12: there are four panes in the window. One of the
- 43:35S12: panes says that you know what I know about you.
- 43:39S12: You can look at your sweater and see that it's
- 43:41S12: a particular sweater. And I can tell you it is
- 43:43S12: that sort of. We can both see that one of
- 43:45S12: the other pains and I won't go into all four.
- 43:46S12: But one of the other panes say, there are things
- 43:48S12: in your life that you don't know, and I don't know.
- 43:51S12: And we have to look at the Bible and study
- 43:54S12: and dig into it to find out what we don't know.
- 43:58S12: This is the whole area of worldview, because worldview are
- 44:01S12: those fundamental questions. And there's different things that I haven't
- 44:04S12: asked myself that we dig into, and then we unearth things.
- 44:08S12: And it's okay because God loves us and he helps
- 44:11S12: us to unearth those things. And then he brings us
- 44:14S12: into right relationship with himself by getting rid of them.
- 44:17S12: So it's a good process, and it's a process that
- 44:21S12: we all need to be involved with in saying to somebody,
- 44:24S12: maybe your wife, maybe your husband, maybe even your children say, hey,
- 44:28S12: I realize I got to dig deeper in my life
- 44:31S12: right now. Is there something that I'm doing that you
- 44:34S12: think isn't Christian that I don't even really realize? Wow.
- 44:37S12: And they'll say, well, you know, staying up until three
- 44:39S12: in the morning playing computer games, that may be not
- 44:41S12: what Jesus wants you to do every day. You know,
- 44:44S12: those kinds of things. And we're like, whoa, whoa. Now,
- 44:46S12: now you've gone from, you know, you're messing with me
- 44:48S12: now because, well, you asked me and I told you,
- 44:51S12: I don't hate you, but staying up for every night
- 44:54S12: to play computer games that's going to wear you down
- 44:56S12: or the way that you use this word with me.
- 44:59S12: Why do you use this word with me? And that
- 45:00S12: kind of interpersonal interaction will help you to grow deeper
- 45:04S12: and deeper.
- 45:05S2: Yeah. And I'm so grateful for the power of the
- 45:07S2: Holy Spirit because when you think about the it feels daunting. Like,
- 45:11S2: oh my goodness, that's, that sounds like a perfection, you know, to,
- 45:16S2: to get to a place where your life is consistent,
- 45:20S2: where your, your thoughts are in line with and as
- 45:23S2: you mentioned, that happens not during our lifetime.
- 45:26S12: No, no.
- 45:27S2: But we're in this process by the power of the spirit,
- 45:30S2: where we are becoming more like him. As our minds
- 45:32S2: are being renewed and transformed day by day. Right?
- 45:36S12: Yes. And so when I became a Christian, I wasn't
- 45:39S12: reading my Bible very much, and I wasn't praying very much.
- 45:42S12: I now pray a lot more than I used to,
- 45:45S12: and I now read my Bible every day. But I've
- 45:48S12: got those things sorted. But the words I use with
- 45:51S12: my wife, sometimes she'll call me out on it and
- 45:54S12: I'll be like, oh yeah, I've got to change that.
- 45:56S12: And then the way I treat my children, my children
- 45:58S12: will say, I don't like it when you did that, dad.
- 46:01S12: And I'll be like, oh, I got to do that.
- 46:02S12: So there's a little bit of change that occurs every
- 46:05S12: day and it's moving in the right direction, but we
- 46:09S12: never arrive until we get to be with God in glory.
- 46:12S2: Oh, I love this discussion. We're talking about worldview with
- 46:15S2: Peter Worrell, part of our Back to School week. I
- 46:17S2: want to make sure that you know a little bit
- 46:19S2: more about Moody Bible Institute. Just text Moody to 805 557898.
- 46:25S2: Just text that one word. Moody 805 557898.
- 46:31S1: The gospel changes everything.
- 46:34S2: Where else am I gonna find peace, joy, eternal life
- 46:37S2: not found in anyone else.
- 46:40S1: You're listening to Carl and crew.
- 46:42S2: Well, if you have a student who is headed back
- 46:44S2: to school, you're gonna pick them up at the end
- 46:47S2: of the day, or they're going to get off the
- 46:48S2: bus or walk home. And the words that you're likely
- 46:52S2: to hear, no matter what the age of your student.
- 46:55S2: How was your school day? Boring. Boring. How was this class? Boring.
- 47:01S2: Boredom seems to be common almost from day one. You're
- 47:06S2: back in the classroom, you're opening books. There's structure, there's routine,
- 47:11S2: and not all of it is fun. Doctor Elizabeth Smith.
- 47:13S2: I'm bringing you in. Dean of faculty from Moody Online,
- 47:16S2: as well as a professor here at Moody Bible Institute.
- 47:19S2: How big of a complaint is the. I'm bored.
- 47:24S13: Huge people. Huge. And if you don't get it on
- 47:28S13: day one, expect it to be coming. It's absolutely something
- 47:31S13: that we hear from our students, whether they're online or
- 47:35S13: in front of us. Residentially boredom is the number one
- 47:39S13: killer of academic learning success for any student. And you're
- 47:43S13: so right, Ali. Whether you've got preschoolers or you've got
- 47:47S13: doctoral students, it is absolutely something that we all have
- 47:51S13: to deal with. And it is probably one of the
- 47:54S13: largest contributors to a student failing in their ability to
- 47:59S13: learn and do well in school.
- 48:01S2: Wow. Okay, so boredom more than anything else. And I'm
- 48:04S2: assuming because boredom causes you to kind of mentally check out,
- 48:07S2: I'm no longer interested in what's being taught. I'm no
- 48:11S2: longer engaged. So of course, when that stops, the learning
- 48:15S2: kind of stops, right?
- 48:16S13: You're so smart. Yes, we actually have a fancy term
- 48:20S13: for that. It's called attentional engagement. Okay, the moment I
- 48:24S13: perceive something as boring now, that doesn't mean it's boring, right?
- 48:29S13: So even if if the student is sitting there and like, oh,
- 48:31S13: this is boring, that doesn't mean it is boring, but
- 48:34S13: they perceive it as boring. And what they're, they're, they've
- 48:37S13: decided then is they've judged the situation and said, it
- 48:41S13: doesn't grab my attention. And it really then doesn't bring
- 48:44S13: any significance to my life. They've made a judgment that
- 48:47S13: this isn't worth my time and energy. And we make
- 48:50S13: that decision in a flash of a moment. And once
- 48:53S13: they've perceived that and they've bought into it, then their
- 48:56S13: attention wanders and you will not learn that which you
- 48:59S13: are not paying attention to. You have to pay attention
- 49:02S13: to learn. It's just a part of the game.
- 49:05S2: So let's start first with the with the parents or
- 49:08S2: educators who are dealing with bored students or bored children.
- 49:14S2: Is this a problem that we need to solve for them?
- 49:18S13: Wow, you're you're just nailing these questions. I'm so proud
- 49:21S13: of you. Um, no. I'm sorry. Your state of mind
- 49:26S13: is not always my responsibility. It's just not so. But
- 49:31S13: it is a both and. Especially if you have new
- 49:33S13: learners and the younger they are. We can draw attention
- 49:36S13: to it. This is how you're feeling. This is what
- 49:38S13: your experience is. This is your emotional state. Um, and
- 49:42S13: so as we draw their attention to it. One question
- 49:45S13: is what can the student themselves do? But as the parent,
- 49:49S13: as the educator, they will not get their attention back
- 49:54S13: on track if you yourself are not enthusiastic about it.
- 49:59S13: And that doesn't mean I am enthusiastic about, let's say
- 50:02S13: the topics geography, because I'm really never going to be
- 50:05S13: excited about geography to tell you all the truth. But
- 50:09S13: what I can be excited about is using my brain
- 50:13S13: to accomplish something that in the long run, just using
- 50:16S13: my brain, using that muscle is going to make me
- 50:21S13: as a person better. I can think better. I can
- 50:25S13: critically make decisions better. Using my brain, no matter what
- 50:29S13: the topic is, is good for me, and I can
- 50:32S13: be enthusiastic about learning something that I've never learned before.
- 50:37S13: So being enthusiastic about learning and then dig deep and
- 50:41S13: find something that you're excited about with the topic. Because
- 50:44S13: if you're enthusiastic, it's your first step to helping that
- 50:48S13: student fight their boredom.
- 50:49S2: You know, and I think about how much of a
- 50:51S2: life skill it is to learn to manage boredom. And
- 50:55S2: you even think about sometimes in your spiritual life. I mean,
- 50:58S2: I think anyone who's being honest, there are times when
- 51:01S2: you sit down with the Word of God and you
- 51:03S2: open to a part of Scripture that maybe you don't
- 51:07S2: feel like you get a lot out of just and
- 51:10S2: I'm talking feelings here. I'm not talking facts. How you
- 51:13S2: feel is, oh boy, this is a long genealogy or.
- 51:16S2: This is a lot of rules for building, for building
- 51:20S2: like that don't seem to apply much to my everyday life.
- 51:23S2: And quite frankly, I'm a little bored as I'm reading
- 51:26S2: through it. But yet you recognize that in that moment,
- 51:31S2: the solution is not to close the Bible and say, eh,
- 51:35S2: I'm bored. I'm not going to do it today. Right?
- 51:38S2: I mean, managing boredom is a life skill. It's a
- 51:41S2: it's important for our spiritual life as well.
- 51:44S13: Yep. 100%. Um, and I think sometimes boredom is Satan's
- 51:47S13: playground when we're bored and our attention is wandering, he's
- 51:51S13: more than happy to grasp that for us and take
- 51:53S13: us into places we should not wander. Yeah, we can
- 51:55S13: learn some things there from the Israelites when they're not
- 51:57S13: really busy about doing what God has asked them to do,
- 51:59S13: they get themselves in trouble when they start looking elsewhere.
- 52:03S13: But I mean, have you tried to get through the
- 52:05S13: book of numbers lately? Wow, that's a gripper. I had
- 52:08S13: a friend. She goes, I know how to fall asleep
- 52:10S13: every night. I just read the book of numbers. Okay, well,
- 52:14S13: yay you. But that's one way of using it. But
- 52:17S13: you're right. We need to address that. It's a human.
- 52:20S13: It's a human emotion that we all have to deal with,
- 52:22S13: that not everything is going to naturally grab my attention
- 52:24S13: and find me interested. So I have to work at
- 52:26S13: not being bored and get myself back to work. What
- 52:29S13: you said reminded me of Ecclesiastes three, verses 12 through 13,
- 52:34S13: and it says, I perceive that there is nothing better
- 52:35S13: for them than to be joyful and to do good
- 52:38S13: as long as they live. But everyone should eat and
- 52:41S13: drink and take pleasure in all of his work, for
- 52:44S13: it is God's gift to man. I think our perception
- 52:47S13: of work needs to change as God's gift, and therefore
- 52:51S13: it is my Christian responsibility to fight boredom, because this
- 52:55S13: is the moment that God has given me, and I
- 52:57S13: am going to pursue excellence in this moment by thanking
- 53:00S13: God for the gift of this moment, even if it's
- 53:02S13: not something that immediately grabs my attention, I'm going to
- 53:06S13: grab my attention and work to put myself at it.
- 53:08S13: And if we as adults lead the way as a
- 53:10S13: role model in that, right? So on Sunday mornings. Make
- 53:14S13: sure that your attention is right there during the sermon
- 53:17S13: and that you are focused and enthusiastic about being there.
- 53:19S13: Be that role model on Sunday mornings, at night, homework,
- 53:23S13: cleaning the toilet, whatever you're doing. Bringing a godly role
- 53:26S13: model in that work is a gift to us and
- 53:29S13: something we want to pass on to our children.
- 53:31S2: I want to shift gears just a little bit and
- 53:33S2: talk about Moody online. I know that's something that gets
- 53:36S2: you excited. Never a dull, boring moment when you're overseeing
- 53:41S2: this fantastic online education opportunity. Talk about what's new and
- 53:45S2: what's exciting you right now.
- 53:48S13: We are having so much fun, and we are continuing
- 53:51S13: to add students weekly to our lovely student roster, and
- 53:54S13: we're so grateful to have them from around the world.
- 53:58S13: We are having more and more high schoolers join our
- 54:01S13: Moody Online Academy. Dual enrollment program, in which sophomores, juniors,
- 54:06S13: and seniors can take college courses from Moody online at
- 54:10S13: $99 a credit up to 18 credits so that they
- 54:13S13: can have college courses that could not only contribute to
- 54:17S13: their high school degree, but also get them that leg
- 54:20S13: up on college and they can even some of our
- 54:23S13: we have undergraduate certificates. More and more high schoolers are
- 54:27S13: graduating with either a certificate or associate degree even before
- 54:30S13: they're out of high school. And we can help them
- 54:33S13: do that where our courses are not just going to
- 54:35S13: teach them the general ed things that they may need
- 54:37S13: to do or areas they're interested in, but from a
- 54:39S13: strong biblical foundation and theological framework. Because in all of
- 54:43S13: our students, it's not just what you learn, but it's
- 54:45S13: who you're becoming. And that spiritual formation is a part
- 54:48S13: of all that we do. So we're really excited about
- 54:51S13: our high school program that we're beginning.
- 54:53S2: What the majority I mean, and there is no typical
- 54:56S2: moody online student. You said that they're coming from all
- 54:59S2: over the world, but people often don't realize that that
- 55:03S2: it's even available. I mean, Moody Bible Institute has such
- 55:05S2: a fantastic reputation around the world for training up Christian
- 55:09S2: leaders and moody online has become is becoming a bigger
- 55:13S2: and bigger part of that, right?
- 55:14S13: Absolutely. So we have five departments now. Bible and theology
- 55:18S13: is one of them. And ministry, you know, but we
- 55:20S13: also have business education and then counseling and human services.
- 55:24S13: So we believe that ministry, no matter where you get
- 55:26S13: your paycheck, we are serving the Lord in his kingdom.
- 55:29S13: And so as we learn business, as we learn education,
- 55:33S13: as we learn counseling, human services, social work, psychology, as
- 55:37S13: we are going into these fields where we are helping
- 55:39S13: and growing in other areas, we are doing it, making
- 55:42S13: sure again that we are biblically grounded and theologically framed,
- 55:46S13: and we are seeing our degrees grow because Christians who
- 55:48S13: have a heart to love Jesus, where God has them,
- 55:51S13: right where they're planted, and get that training so that
- 55:54S13: they are serving God even more faithfully. We have degrees
- 55:58S13: from undergraduate certificates, which are anywhere from 15 to 21
- 56:02S13: credits all the way up through our doctoral program. So
- 56:05S13: what level would you like to join us at? Certificate associate, bachelor's, master's,
- 56:10S13: a graduate certificate, a doctoral program. And we are striving
- 56:14S13: so diligently to make sure that we have the best
- 56:17S13: academic programs out there with the most engaged professors, to
- 56:21S13: ensure that students who come and learn from us are
- 56:23S13: going to do so, that they walk away knowing Jesus more,
- 56:27S13: loving him more, being a more faithful Christ follower and
- 56:30S13: trained with excellence for what God has called them to do.
- 56:33S13: And am I a little bit excited about reaching the
- 56:35S13: world for Jesus and training people to serve him? I
- 56:38S13: don't know, Allie. What do you think? I'm a little enthusiastic.
- 56:42S2: I love the enthusiasm. Doctor Elizabeth Smith, I want to
- 56:45S2: get you a key word so you listening? Can get
- 56:47S2: more information about any or all of the programs mentioned.
- 56:51S2: The program for high school students, the different degree offerings, certificate, Bachelor,
- 56:56S2: graduate and beyond. Just text Moody to 805 557898. Text
- 57:03S2: the word moody 805 557898.