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Religion & Spirituality

BibleThinker

Mike Winger

Learn to think biblically about everything! Teaching theology, apologetics, and verse-by-verse Bible studies. Mike Winger teaches with clarity, doesn't shy away from controversial topics, and always seeks to teach the Bible accurately. This podcast will equip you to know and defend the Christian faith and understand the Bible in a deeper way.

  • 828 episodes
  • Updated May 30

Episodes828

  • Nov 14, 2019 · 1 hr 11 min

    How You Should and Shouldn't Interpret Violence in the Old Testament

    I'm hoping to some more content on violence in the Old Testament as well as a much more detailed and thoughtful response to Greg Boyd's "Cruciform Hermeneutic" in the future. Until then, here is a video getting started on those topics and hopefully offering some help on topics like "How could God kill people?", "What about the Amalekites?", "How literal are the 'destroy them all' passages?", "Is it reasonable to just say that those passages don't really reflect God's commands?" Here's a link t

  • Nov 12, 2019 · 1 hr 19 min

    Biblical Tools For Dealing With Sadness and Depression

    My goal here is to give you a set of tools, some of which you may find truly helpful. While I have very little to say about medication I think that scripture does offer us some guidance to really help us with the sadness of our souls and looking at several biblical passages that give examples of dealing with and processing depression can help us to better deal with our own. I don't want you to think I'm fully answering the problem of depression or sadness here, just that I'm trying to help us al

  • Nov 10, 2019 · 1 hr 6 min

    The Shocking Murder of John the Baptist: The Mark Series pt 20 (6:14-29)

    A study on the tragic end of John the Baptist. This is the only passage in Mark that isn't directly about Jesus and it records the sad reality of how pride, corruption and lust lead to the murder of John the Baptist. In addition to the discussion on what lead to John's murder under the orders of Herod we will also get into some apologetics issues surrounding the death of John that skeptics bring up, which actually give us more reason to trust what Mark says. Here's the video I mentioned from

  • Nov 5, 2019 · 1 hr 10 min

    This Is How The Cross Works

    This is the Old Testament Passage that most clearly shows that Jesus died in our place as a substitutionary sacrifice for us because of our sins. It shows that Christ was our sin bearer and our sin offering and that His sacrifice justifies us. It's also the passage most often ignored by those who deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement. In other words, it's important. We will look at how this passage, with the relevant background understanding of the Levitical sacrifices undeniably teaches that J

  • Nov 3, 2019 · 1 hr 4 min

    Jesus Said It to Them, How Does It Apply to Me? The Mark Series Pt 19 (6:7-13)

    In an attempt to help you learn how to better analyze and apply commands to the 12 apostles we look at when Jesus sent the Twelve out two by two, telling them to take no money and no extra supplies. We'll see that this command does not apply directly to us but we'll also see that there is still a simply and biblical way to apply it into our lives, a way that I think the Holy Spirit intended for us to find. In this study we'll also look at the use of oil in healing. I hope this helps equip you

  • Oct 29, 2019 · 53 min

    Sola Scriptura: why I believe it and how it works

    Sola Scriptura is the idea that the Bible is the final authority on what Christians believe and how we live. In this video I’ll explain it simply, give some biblical reasons to support Sola Scriptura and deal with some Catholic rebuttals to it. I’m hoping this is a charitable and gracious experience for everyone even though I know it will be hard stuff for some people to hear. I am convinced this is a huge issue because so many of the teachings of Roman Catholicism are not found in Scripture but

  • Oct 28, 2019 · 59 min

    Dealing with a bit of atheism and Catholicism today: The Mark Series Pt 18 (6:1-6)

    Was Nazareth fake? Was Mary a perpetual virgin? And what can we learn from Jesus being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth? I admit that today's study may seem a bit random but I think you will find it interesting and have some insights that will bless you. Rene Salm wrote a book suggesting that Nazareth was a myth and even though it has been debunked it still shows up on popular atheist web sties today. We'll also deal with the Roman Catholic claim that Mary remained a virgin her whole life

  • Oct 22, 2019 · 1 hr 20 min

    Where The Old Testament Teaches Penal Substitution

    The idea that Jesus died in our place, suffering the penalty for our sins, is under serious attack. We need to understand where we can find Penal Substitutionary Atonement ideas in the Bible, starting with the Old Testament. This is part of a series explaining and defending Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I'll cover biblical data, historical data, moral objections and more so that you will understand the doctrine, how to defend it and what's really wrong with this modern move against the biblic

  • Oct 20, 2019 · 57 min

    Jesus, Jairus and the Woman: The Mark Series Pt 17 (5:21-43)

    In the best example of a "Markan sandwich" we see two remarkable healings which are meant to teach us some remarkable and needful lessons. Jesus meets our deepest fear with a call to faith that calms our hearts and changes the way we see death forever. I hope and pray that the beautiful truths of this passage of Scripture will get stuck in your head and heart. Here's a link to the whole series through the Gospel of Mark https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

  • Oct 15, 2019 · 1 hr 9 min

    The Real History of Penal Substitutionary Atonement

    A lot of leaders who reject Penal Substitution will say that it was invented by Calvin or Anselm and that the early church held to Christus Victor or Ransom theories of the atonement. This turns out to be a painful distortion of history. I mean, this is pure historical revisionism in the name of teaching bad theology! I was shocked to find out how badly church history has been twisted by progressive leaders who, whether they realize it or not, are teaching unbiblical views of how we are saved.

  • Oct 8, 2019 · 1 hr 5 min

    Answering New Believers' Questions Live

    Expand this for time stamps (also in the first comment for mobile users) Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference: 1. 1:04 Can a wife or mom have a job outside of the house? 2. 4:43 Is profanity ever acceptable? E.g. "I _-ing love you, man!" (not in anger) 3. 8:21 Can you talk about the relationship between obedience and faith? 4. 9:28 What purpose does prayer serve for an all-powerful God? How do we affect anyone/anything with prayer? 5. 13:36 Why do you think God created us if He knew it wou

  • Oct 6, 2019 · 56 min

    Insights from Jesus and the Demoniac: The Mark Series Part 16 (Mk 5:1-20)

    Get insights about demonology, the identity of Christ, the hope Jesus gives to even the most broken life, and some apologetics about a geography issue in Mark 5 related to the location of the region of the Gerasenes. I got a questions after this study about why Matthew says "Gadarenes" instead of Gerasenes. I forgot to mention it during the study but Gadara was a well known city about 6 miles from Galilee with some territory reaching all the way to Galilee. Matthew seems to be using a different

  • Oct 1, 2019 · 1 hr 16 min

    Stop Saying All Roads Lead to God!

    It's worse than nonsense. It's destructive. I think this is one of the most common bad ideas people have about God and religion. Let's thoughtfully analyze the idea that all roads lead to God and see why this incredibly common viewpoint couldn't possibly be true. Here's a list of other slogans we'll deal with today. "All roads lead to God" "How can you say that Jesus is the only way? How rude! How arrogant! How judgy!" "All religions teach basically the same thing." "All religions have a differ

  • Sep 29, 2019 · 44 min

    Why God Repents and Changes His Mind in the Bible

    Let's get a handle on the various passages where the Bible says that God repents, relents or changes His mind. Personally, I found this study very rewarding and I hope it blesses you as well. Someone came up after I taught this study and shared something with me that I think might add to the content in this message. They said something like, "God is jealous, but not like man's jealousy. God has wrath, but not like man's wrath. And in a similar way God repents but not in the same way or with the

  • Sep 24, 2019 · 1 hr 31 min

    Tips for Bible Teachers

    Tips on how to prepare a message, how to maximize your gifting, good software to use to make your study time more efficient, how to think about failures, how to stay true to the Bible, how to process insecurities and nervousness, how to avoid pitfalls of pride, and much more. Free, and very useful, Bible study resources - NetBible has good insights into textual issues and some stuff commentaries often skip. https://netbible.org - BlueLetterBible has tons of free commentaries and helps. I wish

  • Sep 22, 2019 · 49 min

    Why Jesus Calmed the Storm: The Mark Series pt 15 (4:35-41)

    I've heard whole Bible studies through the passage where Jesus calms the storm where the teacher fails to identify a key point in it. When Jesus commanded the storm to cease it revealed something of the divinity of Jesus that had the apostles in awe and reverence for Jesus in a whole new way. Even though they had previously seen Jesus cast out demons and heal the sick, this act of commanding a storm to stop meant something to these first century Jews which is often overlooked by people today.

  • Sep 18, 2019 · 1 hr 25 min

    A Christian Evaluation of Suicide

    Suicide is a big issue that most of us haven't thought about very carefully. I'm not going to pretend to have all the answers, or easy answers. But what I can do is analyze some of the issues related to suicide from a biblical worldview and try to point you toward biblical help. I need to offer a disclaimer though. Some of what I share here is going to be based not just on the plain teaching of scripture but on my own experience as a counselor, friend and human being. I want you to consider and

  • Sep 16, 2019 · 1 hr 5 min

    Making Sense of Jesus' Parables: The Mark Series pt 14

    I hope this helps you understand the parables better than ever before. These four parables are found in Mark 4:21-34 and they include the parable of the lamp on a stand, the parable of the measuring scales, the parable of growing seed, and the parable of the mustard seed. Unlocking the parables of Jesus depends simply on learning the pattern of interpretation Jesus established when he explained the parable of the soils and that of the tares. In this study we will give special attention to the

  • Sep 10, 2019 · 1 hr 25 min

    Really Specific Prophecy Jesus Fulfilled on the Cross! Amazing!

    A detailed description of the crucifixion of Jesus was written hundreds of years before it happened! Let's analyze this Old Testament passage and respond to objections from an atheist and a Jewish Rabbi. Does Psalm 22 really support the idea that God inspired the Bible and planned ahead of time for Jesus to die for us? Can it stand under careful examination and scrutiny from contrary sources? I think the answer is yes. Allow me to make my case. Here's that REALLY good video I mentioned where Dr.

  • Sep 8, 2019 · 1 hr 9 min

    The Key to All the Parables: The Mark Series part 13

    The Parable of the Sower helps us understand all parables from Jesus. Learn it's meaning and some principles for interpreting the parables of Jesus from this study in Mark 4:1-20. I also encourage you to really consider how to apply this passage to your own life. This is part 13 in the Mark series. Here's the whole paylist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF If you love this ministry and would like to help support it please click here (but feel no obligati