The Old Antioch Podcast

Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
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Since 2012, Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. has answered listener questions on a podcast segment called "Faith & Practice," which was originally produced under the auspices of Confessing Our Hope: The Podcast of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary with Pastor Bill Hill at the helm. After five years “on the mic” as the podcast host, Bill handed over hosting responsibilities to Pastor Zachary Groff, who currently serves as Director of Advancement & Admissions for the Seminary. Pastor Groff hosted the podcast for another five years. Faith & Practice continues as a series on "The Old Antioch Podcast" of Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCA).

Episodes

  1. Apr 30

    Faith & Practice #78

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to the history of the Presbyterian Church in America, the book of Philemon, justification by faith, Native American history before the introduction of the gospel, the regulative principle of worship, ministry best practices, and Natural Law. Questions include: - Did God ever send a prophet or apostle to preach the gospel to the Native Americans before Christopher Columbus? If not, why did God wait until 1492 to bring the gospel to the Americas? Did God condemn all Native Americans until the gospel was preached to them? Did they possess faith in God sufficient for salvation prior to their reception of the gospel? - Is the regulative principle of worship somewhat self-defeating since the Bible never explicitly teaches the regulative principle of worship? - What are some best practices for encouraging young ministers? - What have you found is the most convincing argument to answer those who say Natural Law (concerning morality) is separate from God's moral law as summarized in the Ten Commandments, and further summarized in the two Great Commandments to Love God and Love Neighbor? - Can we find the doctrine of justification by faith alone in the letter of Paul to Philemon? - What do you make of the claim that the PCA was founded to be a "broadly reformed/big tent" denomination?

  2. Mar 19

    Faith & Practice #77

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to Christian living, parenting, church architecture, conscience, decision-making, and covenant theology. Questions include: - How should Christians decide when to refuse to work for a customer or employer? - Should we tithe on money we receive as a gift? - Are images of Christ (e.g., in art, textbooks) sinful to look at? How should we understand historical art portraying biblical themes/events? Connected to this, how do we understand nude art, historically? Is it outright sinful? - How should we conduct ourselves in an increasingly hostile world where children can be taken away from parents for spanking and other forms of historically attested disciplinary practices? How do we address disobedience in public settings? In corporate worship? - If a church is in a position to construct a building for worship, would it be a valid use of funds to build something beautiful and lasting? - Regarding the New Covenant prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34, I've seen Reformed folks argue for a mixed covenant and say that Jeremiah's "New Covenant" prophecy is the culmination in glory. I've also heard people argue that "the least to the greatest of them" just means all classes of people, not every single individual. What are your thoughts?

  3. 09/05/2025

    Faith & Practice #76

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to the Lord's Supper, Internet usage, elders and deacons in local church contexts, Sabbath-keeping, and regeneration/conversion. Questions include: - How can a person be saved in the womb? - May a Christian use an ad-blocker to prevent ads from displaying or playing on websites? - What ought to characterize the relationship between elders and deacons in a local church? How can we navigate disagreements? - Are small groups appropriate in Reformed churches? - Is public transportation on the Lord's Day a Fourth Commandment violation? - Can you address the historical-theological claims of paedocommunion advocates (especially those in the CREC) and give a comprehensive exegesis of 1 Corinthians 11:17–33?

  4. 02/03/2025

    Faith & Practice #75

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to children in corporate worship, sanctification, biblical interpretation, personal godliness, and Aslan. Questions include: - What is your opinion on "children's messages" in corporate worship? - How do you pastorally distinguish between no progress in sanctification in a Christian's life, slow progress in a Christian's life, and the kind of progress we ought to expect to see in a Christian's life? - What does 1 Peter 3:19–20 mean when it says Jesus "went and preached to the spirits in prison"? - What's the symbolism involved in the removal of the foreskin in circumcision? - Why did Joseph deceive and scare his brothers when he was a ruler in Egypt? - Why did Jesus tell the disciples to buy swords in Luke 22:36-38 - Is Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia a violation of the 2nd (or 3rd) Commandment? - How, practically, can we be both content and ambitious? What should we think and do to be content with our current conditions, yet work to improve our conditions?

  5. 08/13/2024

    Faith & Practice #74

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to worship in the PCA, accountability in the Christian life, harmonizing the accounts of Jesus's childhood found in Matthew and Luke, and the doctrine of sin (harmartiology). Questions include: - If we assume our brothers have an overly strict view of what is permissible in worship, should we still avoid those things in worship we know will be controversial, or is this a misapplication of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8? - Is person-to-person accountability a biblical practice? If it is, what passages of Scripture support it? What is your advice on how it should be pursued? - Would you explain the sequence of events during Jesus' first two years in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2? - What is the biblical course of action for dealing with a besetting sin? - How do I get a right view of the differences between temptations of "the world," of "the flesh," and of "the devil"? - What is the origin of temptations and suggestions to do evil which are not triggered by anything we physically perceive (e.g., when evil thoughts and temptations just enter into our mind, seemingly at random)? - Why shouldn't Christians beset by a particular sin avoid the company of "normal Christians" who aren't struggling in the same way? - How can a pastor help a church member - or how can a church member help a fellow Christian - who is dealing with sin which is foreign to the one otherwise in a position to help? - Once saved, why do we as Christians still sin and die? - Please explain to me the difference between modern and Puritan Reformed authors on assurance of salvation.

  6. 01/29/2024

    Faith & Practice #73

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to church government, the sabbath & missiology, covenant theology, sacramentology & baptism, medical ethics, and Old Testament theology. Questions include: - What is the difference between the Old and New Testaments, the old and new covenants, and the covenants of work and grace? Is there any overlap? - What counsel would you have for Pastoral Search Committees? - Should Christians ever feel free to use psychedelics to improve attention, focus, creativity, and work performance (i.e., through micro-dosing)? - How can we justify from the Bible the specificity of convention in the Book of Church Order that is binding on members and church courts in the Presbyterian Church in America? - How should missionaries in Muslim-dominated countries observe the Sabbath and encourage new believers/converts to observe the Sabbath? Is it permissible to observe it on the fifth day of the week (Friday) rather than on the first day of the week (Sunday)? - What was Jesus' point in the two "widow's mite" passages (Mk. 12:41-44; Lk. 21:1-14)? - Are Isaiah 14:21-21 and Ezekiel 28:13-19 about Satan? - A married man professes faith and seeks baptism together with his unbelieving wife, who is willing - even wanting - to be baptized along with her husband. Would it be proper to baptize her? What if the situation was reversed?

  7. 11/13/2023

    Faith & Practice #72

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to church government, Christian education, biblical ethics, and Old Testament theology. Questions include: - How should members respond to a session that is small and overworked, but may appear to be rushing to elect new elders? - Why do we make distinctions in the office of Elder, and how should we understand the various categories (e.g., Pastor, Teacher/Doctor, etc.) today? - How do you know if your church has a true plurality (and parity) of elders? - How should the church organize and conduct Sunday School? - What biblical principles apply to how to steward our physical health? - How should we view magic in literature and entertainment? - When the Israelites left Egypt, how did they all have tents already at their disposal? - While wandering in the desert for 40 years, what was the nature of the work that the Israelites did?

  8. 09/13/2023

    Faith & Practice #71

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff handle a diverse array of questions pertaining to church government, prayer, worship, and more. Questions include: - Should we be expecting more or formal education for Ruling Elders? - Where did Old Testament believers worship before the Temple? - What authority do Deacons have in the church? - What guidelines should we follow to properly pray imprecatory prayers? - What do you think the ideal training method is for new office bearers in the church? - What biblical principles apply to deciding how much money to spend on 'non-essentials' (e.g., recreation, entertainment, home decor)?

  9. 08/21/2023

    Faith & Practice #70

    In this episode of "Faith & Practice," Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff briefly discuss the unique history of Antioch Presbyterian Church before diving into listener questions. Questions include: - What is the difference between piety and pietism? - Several interrelated questions about the sin of same-sex attraction and how a Christian struggling against this sin can pursue holiness in heart and relationships. - What is the difference between a symbol of Christ, and an image of Christ? Can you clarify how it is that symbols may be acceptable whereas images are not? - What do we mean when we speak of the whole counsel of God? What are some neglected areas of the whole counsel of God? - Is the qualification of teaching with regards to the eldership the same as the gift of teaching spoken of elsewhere in the New Testament? - Can you explain the relationship between "minister" in Exodus 39:26 and the same term in Exodus 38:8? What were the women doing at the entrance to the tent of meeting in 38:8, and how does this relate to what the priest is doing in 39:26?

  10. 06/30/2023

    Faith & Practice #69

    In this inaugural episode of "Faith & Practice" under the purview of Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Woodruff, South Carolina, Dr. Pipa and Pastor Groff discuss a landmark Supreme Court ruling (Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General), the 50th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, and a diverse array of listener questions. Questions include: - Why was the 1933 edition of the PCUS BCO chosen as the starting point for construction of the PCA BCO? - Should Christian ministers marry two unbelievers and/or marry two professing Christians who show no evidence of true saving faith? - If a man commits adultery and his wife chooses to divorce him, should she get full custody of the children? If yes, does he cease to be the covenantal head of the household? Does the man's repentance and desire (or lack thereof) to remain in the marriage change the answer? Is joint custody a biblical concept? - Is it wrong to watch recordings of sport matches that take place on the Lord's Day? - Can you comment on the increased rate of exceptions (i.e., stated differences) to the 'Recreation Clause' in the Westminster Standards? - Regarding the Sabbath, what does the word 'pleasure' in Isaiah 58:13 and 14 mean for us today?

  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
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About

Since 2012, Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. has answered listener questions on a podcast segment called "Faith & Practice," which was originally produced under the auspices of Confessing Our Hope: The Podcast of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary with Pastor Bill Hill at the helm. After five years “on the mic” as the podcast host, Bill handed over hosting responsibilities to Pastor Zachary Groff, who currently serves as Director of Advancement & Admissions for the Seminary. Pastor Groff hosted the podcast for another five years. Faith & Practice continues as a series on "The Old Antioch Podcast" of Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCA).

Information

  • Creator
    Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCA)
  • Show Website
    The Old Antioch Podcast