Household Hermeneutics Jason and Jami Balmet

After 6 intense months of study and work: today we are launching our brand new podcast: Household Hermeneutics with Jason and Jami.

Our goal is to dive head long into doctrine, theology, and learning why we believe what we believe. We have a fierce passion for helping families learn theology and teach it to their children. We need to be prepared for the days ahead and to be able to pass down our faith to our kids and grand kids. Let's be forward looking Christians who take God and His Word seriously!

You can listen in to our introduction episode today where we dive into all of this. We will cover: What this new podcast is all about, why we need to take theology seriously, why it's worth learning about, and a little about WHY it's so important to pass this down to our kids.

You can Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you never miss an episode! Or listen on Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The first week or two in the life of a new podcast is very important. So if you have 5 minutes to leave a rating and a review over on iTunes, that would help so much!!

What we cover in this episode: 


Introducing ourselves and our family
What do we mean by "household hermeneutics" 
The purpose of this show
The importance of understanding theology as a family

Resources mentioned in this episode: 


Book: A Day of Sacred Rest by John Owen
Book: Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)
Book: The Christian Faith by Michael Horton (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)
Book: Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerdardus Vos (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase) 

Note for parentsAfter each episode of Household Hermeneutics, we are going to have a second, much smaller episode that will encapsulate the topic of the main episode and provide some resources and other useful things that you can use to teach your kids in a family worship setting. This week’s main episode wasn’t on a specific topic, but more of an introduction, so today’s family worship episode is going to be on the topic of our purpose that is given by God. In future episodes that are on a specific theological topic, the family worship episode will be on the same topic.

Family Worship - The Chief End of ManPeople all over the world and throughout history have struggled with finding their purpose. “Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? What is my purpose?” But did you know that we don’t have to worry about that, because we know the answer?

The Bible tells us very clearly that man was created in order to bring glory to God and to enjoy Him. That means that you and I were created to glorify God by how we live our lives, and to enjoy Him forever. The very first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is the chief end of man?” and the answer is given: “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

We can find this in the Bible, so we know it is true. First, let’s look at the first part, the glorifying God part. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 says, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Next, let’s look for the enjoying God forever part in the Bible. Psalm 144:15b says, "Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” It says in Isaiah 12:2 that “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” In Revelation 21:3-4, it says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” All of those things we just read sound like reasons we can enjoy God, right?

Before we go any farther, let’s make sure we all understand what it means to glorify something. To glorify means to give honor, or praise, or admiration. It means to please someone by your actions. So, in the case of our purpose in life, whenever we come to a point where we don’t know what to, or we need to make an important decision, the first question we should ask ourselves is this: how can I glorify God in this situation?

Here is an easy example. If your mom tells you to clean your room, but you don’t want to, you have two options. You could listen to her and clean your room, or you can disobey her and not clean it. But if you ask yourself the question, “how can I glorify God here?” you will find an answer. We know the Bible tells us in the 10 Commandments to obey our parents, so we can know that if our parents tell us to do something, then the way to glorify God would be to obey them.

So, our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. When we know that, and trust it, it can help us through many tough situations.

Memory Verse1 Corinthians 10:31 - “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

CatechismsWestminster Shorter CatechismQ: 1. What is the chief end of man?A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Westminster Larger CatechismQ. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man? A. Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Keach’s CatechismQ. 2. What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify

Episode 2 of Household Hermeneutics is here, and we can't wait for you to listen in!

There are 4 primary forms of theology that we will use to study God's Word in this podcast, and we talk about them all in this episode. We are going to explain our methodology for study Scripture, why we need to take theology seriously, why it's worth learning about, and a little about WHY it's so important to pass this down to our kids.

You can Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you never miss an episode! Or listen on Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The first few weeks in the life of a new podcast is very important. So if you have 5 minutes to leave a rating and a review over on iTunes, that would help so much!!

What we cover in this episode:


What does theology mean?
Systematic Theology
Biblical Theology
Historical Theology
Practical Theology
Making time to study the Bible and teach it to our kids

Resources mentioned in this episode: 


Book: Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)
Book: The Christian Faith by Michael Horton (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase) 

Note for parents

After each episode of Household Hermeneutics, we are going to have a second, much smaller episode that will encapsulate the topic of the main episode and provide some resources and other useful things that you can use to teach your kids in a family worship setting. This week’s main episode wasn’t on a specific topic, but more of a look at different ways to study and understand theology, so today’s family worship episode is going to be on the topic of how and why we should study the Bible. In future episodes that are on a specific theological topic, the family worship episode will be on the same topic.

Family Worship - Studying God’s Word

When we’re in school, we study and prepare for tests, right? Why do we do that? There could be many reasons, such as hoping to get good grades, wanting a quality education and understanding the topics we’re learning, hoping to graduate, and you can probably come up with more. Well, studying God’s Word, the Bible, is even more important than studying in school.

Why do you think that is? In our last episode, we learned that the primary purpose that we have is the glorify God and enjoy Him forever, right? Well, studying the Bible is the best way to learn how to do that.Just like last time, let’s look at a couple historical catechisms to see what they say about this. First, in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it says in Question 2:

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

Question 3 goes on to say:

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

In an even more succinct way, The Catechism for Boys and Girls says in Question 14:

14. Q. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible alone

Before going any further, let’s take a look at what the Bible itself says about all this. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Right before those 2 verses, where Paul clearly establishes all the things that Scripture is good for, he also says, “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 1:13 says, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 119:104 says, “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”

There are countless other verses in the Bible that speak to this same fact, that the things we need to know in order to live in such a way as to love and obey God are found in the Bible, but we’ll stop there for now. Since we’ve now established that fact, let’s now move on to taking a look at how we can study and understand the Bible.

One of the easiest ways to learn is simply by reading the Bible. Now, this can of course be tricky sometimes, because there are parts of the Bible that aren’t completely easy to understand. We shouldn’t give up when we come across something hard or confusing. We should pray, asking God to help us to understand, and we should ask others for help, such as our parents, our pastor, or sunday school teacher. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This means that we can rely on it to help us live our lives in a godly way.

Memorizing bible verses is another excellent way to study. That’s why I always include a verse to memorize at the end of these episodes. Having lots of the Bible memorized is super helpful in times such as when you face trials, are suffering

Episode 3 of Household Hermeneutics is here, and we're finally diving into an actual doctrine: Bibliology!

We believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired revelation from God, and we dive deep into that in this episode. We are going to talk what the Bible means by the Word of God, why we can trust that Scripture is divinely inspired, the purpose of God's Word, and of course how this can affect our lives and the lives of our children.

You can Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes so you never miss an episode! Or listen on Spotify, Google, or wherever else you listen to podcasts.

The first few weeks in the life of a new podcast is very important. So if you have 5 minutes to leave a rating and a review over on iTunes, that would help so much!!

What we cover in this episode:


What does "The Word of God" mean?
The 66 books of the Bible (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament)
The divinely inspired nature of Scripture
The purpose of revelation from God
Application to our family

Resources mentioned in this episode: 


Book: Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)
Book: The Christian Faith by Michael Horton (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase) 
Book: Historical Theology by Gregg Allison (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)
Book: Biblical Theology by Geerhardus Vos (Or order from Westminster Bookstore to support a small Christian ministry, use referral link for $5 off your first purchase)

Family Worship - Divine Inspiration of the Bible

In our last family worship episode, we talked about studying the Bible. Remember, we are called to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And, since God’s Word is the only way to learn how to glorify and enjoy Him, we need to make sure to study the Bible, so that we may learn how to do so. We even went through some great ways to study God’s Word, such as always reading it regularly, memorizing Bible verses, and reading Bible studies and listening to sermons.

Now, all of this begs the question why. What is it about the Bible that makes it the source we should use and trust so that we can live our lives to glorify and enjoy the Lord?

If the Bible is just a really old book written by some smart people a long time ago, then we probably wouldn’t care too much about what it said. We certainly wouldn’t need to study it, and try to live according to what it said.

But that is not the case. The Bible was divinely inspired by God, and what I mean by that is that every word in the Bible came from God. It is God’s own Word. And that is why we can trust it, and use it to glorify and enjoy the Lord.

Let’s look at some verses in the Bible that help us understand this. You should recognize this first one, since it’s part of our memory verse from last time. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” It says right there at the beginning that all Scripture is breathed out by God, meaning that it all came from God.

2 Peter 1:21 says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” We can see here that none of the Bible came from man’s will, but from God’s.

Let’s look at the Psalms for a moment. Here’s a good one. We see in Psalm 12:6 that “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” What does this mean? It says that God’s words are pure, which means they have no flaws. They are all God’s words, and they are all true.

Now, as we like to do here in these lessons, let’s take a look at some of the historical catechisms, to see what they have to say about the inspiration of Scripture. First, let’s check the Catechism for Boys and Girls, question 15:

15.Q. Who wrote the Bible? A. Holy men who were taught by the Holy Spirit

This is confirming what we’ve read in the Bible verses. God taught the men who wrote the Bible exactly what to say.

Let’s move over to Keach’s Catechism next. In Question 4 it says:

Q. 5. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God? A. The Bible evidences itself to be God's Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, its power to convert sinners and to edify saints; but the Spirit of God only, bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in our hearts, is able fully to persuade us that the Bible is the Word of God.

Before we conclude, we’re going to look at one of the great historical confessional documents. Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) says, “We believe and confess the canonical Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles of both Testaments to be the true Word of God, and to have sufficient authority of themselves, not of men. For God himself spoke to the fathers, prophets, apostles, and still speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures.”

Okay, so what does this all tell us? We’ve seen from Scripture itself that God divinely inspired all of the Bible. It is literally “God’s Word.” The catechisms agree, that God recorded His words through holy men that He taught.

So when we consider the Bible, we don’t have to wonder if it was just written by humans and doesn’t actually contain the Truth we need to live by. We know that it is God’s Word, His own words, that He made sure were written down so that we can