Advertise on podcast: The Word in Ten

Brian Adams opens a series in John 15-16 by letting Jesus set the stage — if you follow him, persecution is not a possibility but a promise. Before getting into how to handle it, he starts with why it happens at all, and what keeps people going anyway. Speaker: Brian Adams

John Ross works through Psalm 116, in which an unknown author emerges from a life-threatening trial and sits down in the calm of rescue to take stock of who God is and what he’s done. The psalm raises a question worth sitting with: when God comes through, what do you actually do with that? Speaker: John Ross

John Ross works through Psalm 14 and its unflinching picture of human corruption — and the surprising contrast at the center of it: a God who, despite finding no one who seeks him, keeps searching anyway. A passage about human decay that somehow ends as a passage about divine persistence. Speaker: John Ross

John Ross works through Psalm 135, unpacking its chiastic structure and the strategy behind it — using the exodus as the focal point to remind Israel, and us, of God’s absolute supremacy over anything else we’ve ever been tempted to run to. The warning about idol worship, it turns out, is just as relevant for the Western church as it was for ancient Israel. Speaker: John Ross

John Ross opens a series in the Psalms with Psalm 49 and its central riddle — that wealth looks like winning from the horizontal view, but from God's perspective, the rich are often the most deceived of all. A straightforward look at where materialism gets us and what actually constitutes real riches. Speaker: John Ross

Doug O'Malley wraps up the series in Luke 7 with the woman who crashes a dinner party to anoint Jesus's feet — and the Pharisee who hosted it. Two people in the same room, both sinners, but only one of them knew it, and that made all the difference. Speaker: Doug O'Malley

Doug O'Malley continues in Luke 7 with one of the more surprising moments in the Gospels — John the Baptist, from prison, sending word to ask Jesus if he's really the one. It's an honest look at what doubt actually is, why even the greatest among us experience it, and how Jesus responds to it. Speaker: Doug O'Malley

Doug O'Malley continues in Luke 7 with the widow of Nain — a woman who didn't ask Jesus to show up, and yet he did. When the Bible doesn't give us clean answers for our suffering, what it does give us is a God who sees, who moves toward grief, and who is powerful enough to do something about it. Speaker: Doug O'Malley

Doug O'Malley opens a series on four encounters with Jesus in Luke 7, starting with the Roman centurion — a powerful, well-respected man who understood authority better than most, and whose humility turned out to be the thing that genuinely amazed Jesus. Speaker: Doug O'Malley

Brad Dufault examines Jeremiah 2:13, where God accuses Israel of two sins: forsaking him as the spring of living water and digging broken cisterns that can't hold water. He explains that turning from God always involves forgetting his rescue, while idolatry—whether ancient or modern—inevitably fails because it's not grounded in reality. Dufault makes a pragmatic case for putting God first, arguing that while a God-first life isn't necessarily easy, it produces lasting impact and peace that broken cisterns like money, family, or image can never provide. Speaker: Brad DuFault

Brad Dufault examines Philippians 2:13, unpacking two distinct ways God works in believers: giving power to act on good desires, and actually changing what we want in the first place. He addresses a common misunderstanding—that we can wait to feel like obeying before we act—arguing instead that trust is proven through action, even when our desires haven't caught up yet. Dufault closes with an encouraging reframe: personal weakness and resistant desires don't limit what God can do, because both the willing and the acting come from him. Speaker: Brad DuFault

Brad Dufault unpacks Jesus' vine and branches metaphor from John 15:5, breaking it into four elements: Jesus as the source of life, believers as dependent yet valuable branches, abiding as an ongoing relationship of trust and communication, and fruit as the resulting impact on others. He clarifies that fruit doesn't create our connection to Christ but reveals it—we're not saved by good works, but saved for them. Dufault closes with a practical challenge: the best gift you can offer the people you want to influence is your own walk with God, not just time spent serving them directly. Speaker: Brad DuFault

Brad Dufault examines Romans 8:32, tracing Paul's logical argument that since God didn't withhold his own son, he will graciously give us all things. He addresses the natural tension this raises—why does life still involve suffering and confusion if God gives us everything—and argues that the cross remains the clearest picture of God's heart toward us, regardless of unresolved questions. Dufault closes with a practical challenge: examine whether your view of God actually matches the extravagant price he paid to rescue you. Speaker: Brad DuFault

Conrad wraps up the series in Mark 10 with Jesus' answer to all the striving — a kingdom where greatness looks like servitude, not dominance. The reason Jesus could wash his disciples' feet, and the reason we can serve without keeping score, comes down to the same thing: a standing that can't be earned or lost. Speaker: Conrad Hilario

Conrad continues in Mark 10, adding two more distinctions to the anatomy of striving for superiority — excellence versus superiority, and being better versus being recognized as better. With examples ranging from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to Simon and Garfunkel, he makes the case that this drive is more pervasive and more destructive than we typically admit. Speaker: Conrad Hilario