Shows / The Blue Collar Scholar
The Blue Collar Scholar
This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.
Episodes
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 11: The Books of John
The books of the New Testament that are believed the be the newest are also the 5 books that are traditionally believed to be written by the Apostle John. It…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: A Humble Spirit of Teachability & Self-Evaluation
The New Testament tells us 2 facts that are in tension with one another: (1) If you give your heart to Jesus Christ, you are saved (see Romans 10:9). And (2)…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 9: Manmade Disasters
From Chernobyl to Bhopal to East Palestine (Ohio) to the Port of Beirut explosion, manmade disasters have been a frequent driver of the news cycle, and have…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 10: Hebrews, 1st & 2nd Peter, and Jude
This episode continues in our journey through the New Testament into the "Catholic Epistles." (Note: Catholic in this context means "universal.") These books…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: A Journey with Jonah (The Book of Jonah)
Inspired by my recent sermons that covered the entire books of 2nd John & 3rd John, I thought I'd try my hand at covering a whole book that is a little bit…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 8: Natural Disasters
This episode briefly discusses some of the biggest and most disastrous earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes (typhoons/cyclones), floods, tornadoes, and…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 9 - The Final Letters of Paul: The Prison Epistles and the Pastoral Epistles
As the Book of Acts draws to a close, the Apostle Paul is under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar. It is during this time that he writes "the Prison…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 8: Luke & Acts
The New Testament class is arranged so that we examine each book of the New Testament more-or-less in the order that they were written. Having looked at James…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Forgiveness
Jesus makes it clear Matthew 18:21-35 that we all need to forgive others. But we are not naturally forgiving people. Furthermore, forgiveness - by definition -…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 7: Major Geopolitical Shifts
For our *** 400th EPISODE *** we have the next installment of our "History in My Lifetime" class lectures. In this episode we briefly go over the major…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: How To Be the Body of Christ (3rd John)
The Summer 2026 Sermon Series officially comes to an end with this sermon. The First John series became a 1st through 3rd John series because 2nd & 3rd John…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 7: Mark & Matthew
Each of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ tell a slightly different story. Each tells a coherent narrative that is compatible with the other Gospels…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Love vs. Lies (2nd John)
Second John is the shortest book in the Bible. This sermon breaks down the entire book into the following points: (1) God is the Source of grace, mercy, peace…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 6 - Generations: Boomers, Gen X, & Millennials
History in My Lifetime is a discussion class. It has become clear to me that much of what drives our discussion is driven by the decades in which we grew up. A…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 6: Romans
Romans is, perhaps, the most important book in the Bible, and the greatest piece of theology writing ever. In this episode we dig into the soteriology (the…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 5: SPACE!
There have been several major historical events regarding human exploration of space in living memory. In fact, just about the entire history of humanity in…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Closing Thoughts from First John (1 John 5:13-21)
Our summer sermon series has been going on since the end of May. We have been going through the book of First John, listening to the Apostle John's message to…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 5: The Earliest Epistles
The New Testament series continues as we begin to examine the texts themselves. The format of this class is to read the texts in the order that they were most…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 4: Terrorist Attacks
For most of us, 9/11 is the biggest single-day historical event we have ever witnessed. So much changed after that terrible day. But 9/11 was hardly the only…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 4: The Biography of Jesus of Nazareth
The episode 5 lecture in the New Testament class will examine the actual text of the New Testament. Before we do that, let us back up and see an overview of…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Assurance of Salvation (1 John 5:6-13)
All of First John comes to a head in chapter 5, verse 13, when the Apostle tells us that he wrote all of the book so that we can KNOW that we have eternal…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: How To Handle Strange & Difficult Bible Verses (1 John 5:7-8 & 16-17)
The 5th chapter of John has a couple of passages that are a challenge for Bible translators. In one passage, the Greek text seems clear, but a short clause…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 3 - American Wars: Vietnam to Iran
This episode is designed to jog your memory and trigger discussions regarding all of the American wars of the last 70 years. Special emphasis is given to the…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 3 - Context of the New Testament: Alexander the Great, the Apocrypha, & Rome
The final lecture on the context of the New Testament starts with a review of the major Near East empires leading up to Alexander the Great. We then look at…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 2 - Context of the New Testament: The Old Testament
In the introductory episode of this series, we discussed the context of the New Testament within the history of recorded history and written language. In this…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
New Testament, episode 1: Introduction
What is the New Testament? It is a deeply Jewish book that serves as a sequel -- of sorts -- to the Old Testament. It is a small library of 27 books. It is a…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: How to Love God (1 John 5:1-5)
The First John series enters the final chapter of the epistle. In this passage, we learn how to love God: (1) love believers, (2) obey God's commands, & (3)…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 2: Major Milestones of the Civil Rights Movement
This episode gives a brief overview of the Civil Rights Movement in the US since Brown v. Board of Education. We also take a look at the women's rights…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Perfect Love (1 John 4:16-21)
"Perfect love casts out fear." - 1st John 4:18 ... In this sermon I break down the idea of such perfect love. In 1st John 4:16-21, see see that if God abides…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
History in My Lifetime, episode 1: Assassinations & Attempted Assassinations
In this, the Fall 2026 semester, we will be trying something new: a class called "History in My Lifetime: Documenting My Place in History to Tell My…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: If God Abides in You ... (1 John 4:7-16)
If you have been reading along with us through the book of First John, you have probably noticed that the Apostle John has told us about a dozen times to love…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Spiritual Warfare (1 John 4:1-6)
Spiritual warfare is an interesting biblical topic. We see glimpses of spiritual warfare in books like Daniel & Revelation, and it is obvious that there is…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Relationship with God (1 John 3:19-24)
"It's not about 'religion,' it's a relationship" is an overused Christian trope. In all honesty, I remember this phrase mostly from my youth in the 1990s, when…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Love One Another (1 John 3:10-18)
Litmus tests tell you the pH level of a chemical, and that helps you identify the chemical. The term "litmus test" can be used metaphorically to describe…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Do Not Choose Sin (1 John 3:4-10)
The freedom to choose is a key aspect of what it means to be an American. This is true of human beings in general, but the citizens of my nation especially…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Children of God (1 John 2:28-3:3)
When a person is redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the believer is adopted into the family as Children of God. This week's sermon covers the last few…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: The Apostle John's Warning Against "Antichrists" (1 John 2:18-27)
Happy 4th of July! The premier liberal democracy to arise out of the Enlightenment is now a quarter a millennium old. But this sermon is not a patriotic…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Using Your Spiritual Gifts
Today I was honored to be invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Parsons (KS). This is the audio of that sermon, where I lay out reasons why some…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Do Not Love the World (1 John 2:15-17)
The Apostle John tells us to not love the world or the things of the world (see 1 John 2:15). But in John 3:16, we see that God so loved the world. Is this a…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Father's Day: Righteousness, Love, & Maturity (1 John 2:1-14)
Happy Father's Day! As we continue in our expository series through the book of First John, we come to the beginning verses of chapter 2. In this passage we…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Juneteenth
Joyous Juneteenth to fans of liberty & justice for all! I opened worship this weekend with a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. As a history dude (with an…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Walk in the Light, as He Is in the Light (1 John 1:5-10)
There is a tug-of-war between the extremes of hedonism & legalism, with neither side being the righteous choice. Instead, the Apostle John teaches us to "walk…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: The Word Is Alive (1 John 1:1-4)
The Summer 2026 sermon series kicks off (well, besides the introductory sermon last week) where any expository series should start: chapter 1, verse 1. The…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon: Introduction to First John
This summer's sermon series is an expository preaching series through the Epistle of First John. This is the introduction, which lays out several overall…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 8: In Conclusion
Memorial Day seems like a nice bookend for this Easter sermon series; beginning and ending on a holiday. In this episode we summarize all that we've discussed…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 7: The Joy of New Beginnings
Congratulations to all our graduates! Life is going to get a lot more rewarding and more difficult. New beginnings fill us with fear because of the fear of the…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
WWII, episode 16: The Cold War
For the second time, The Blue Collar Scholar completes a course on the Second World War. The first attempt was choppy, and I failed to record every episode…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Comparing World Religions, episode 16: Conclusion
This Spring, we've been going over the religions of the world. This Comparing World Religions class comes to a conclusion with this short lecture. In this…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 6: Thankfulness
Happy Mother's Day! All of people, our mothers are the people in our lives that deserve the most gratitude. But this sermon is not just about the gratitude we…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
WWII, episode 15: My Grandfather's Brief WWII Experience
My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Comparing World Religions, episode 15: Atheism
Atheists claim that atheism is not a religion. Rather, it is a lack of religion. I see no reason to not allow atheists to define their religious beliefs…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 5: How the "Lordship of Emotion" Can Destroy Your Faith
Happiness is a good thing. If something makes you happy, then that is probably evidence that that thing is good. However, if the need to be happy (or, if the…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
WWII, episode 14: Aftermath
The Second World War changed human history is ways that are hardly even measurable. It changed everything. In this episode, we will look at the Nuremburg…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Comparing World Religions, episode 14: Paganism
This episode reviews polytheism and pantheism, then gives a overall analysis of various kinds of pagan religions. For instance: African traditional religions…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 4: The Joy of Heaven
The promise of Heaven is a source of immense joy for the Christian. It is unfortunate that so many powerful Christians throughout history have used the promise…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
WWII, episode 13: The Manhattan Project
World War II came to a radically-unpredictable conclusion when Japan was bombed - twice - by the most powerful individual weapons ever used on human beings…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Comparing World Religions, episode 13: Sikhism (and other Asian religions)
This episode gives brief (repeat: brief) overviews of Sikhism, Jainism, Shinto, Taoism, Chinese traditional religions (including Confucianism), the Taiping…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 3: Who Am I?
For the person who has been redeemed by Jesus, the answer to "Who Am I?" has changed. For the one who is in Christ, the answer to "Who Am I?" is that I am…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
WWII, episode 12: The Final Push to Allied Victory
As the Second World War approached the final year, Allied victory became inevitable. But that did not mean that the war was over. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy…
- The Blue Collar Scholar
Comparing World Religions, episode 12: Buddhism
Buddhism is the major world religion that branched out of Hinduism in a way very similar to how Christianity branched out of Judaism. It is a fascinating…