Wednesday in the Word

Krisan Marotta

Wednesday in the Word is a verse-by-verse Bible study podcast that explains what the Bible means and how we know. Hosted by Bible teacher Krisan Marotta, each episode walks through a passage in plain language, digging into context, key words, and big ideas so you can study with confidence. With over 500 episodes, global listeners, and more than 15 years of teaching, Wednesday in the Word offers clear, in-depth Bible teaching with no ads, no donation requests—just free, accessible Bible study for anyone who wants to grow. 

  1. 4H AGO

    05 How to Build Your Life on a Rock, not Sand

    Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 5 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.  Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning that is both sobering and hopeful: it’s possible to talk like a disciple while walking the wrong road. In Matthew 7:12–29, we learn how a God-centered worldview reshapes what “love” looks like in practice—and how the Golden Rule, true spiritual fruit, and the foundation we build on reveal whether we’re actually headed toward life. In this week’s episode, we explore: How the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) summarizes “love your neighbor as yourself” as a call to seek another person’s good—not simply to be “nice”Why Jesus frames the choice before us as two roads: the wide way to destruction and the narrow way to life (Matthew 7:13–14)What it means to “recognize them by their fruits,” and how discernment protects God’s people from false teachers (Matthew 7:15–20)Why calling Jesus “Lord” and even doing impressive religious works isn’t the same as doing the Father’s will (Matthew 7:21–23)How the images of rock and sand press the question: are we hearing Jesus’ words and living as if they’re true? (Matthew 7:24–27)How humility, mercy, repentance, and a longing for God’s kingdom mark the path Jesus describes throughout the sermonAfter listening, you’ll come away with clearer “markers on the road” for examining your faith—not through fear or performance, but through the settled direction of a life built on Jesus’ teaching. You’ll be invited to center your worldview on God, practice love with wisdom and integrity, and choose the narrow path that leads to life.  Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    35 min
  2. FEB 25

    04 What Jesus Taught About Saving Faith

    Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 4 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.  What does saving faith actually look like and how did Jesus define it? In this episode, we turn to Matthew 5:1–12 and the Beatitudes to hear Jesus describe the people who are truly “blessed.” Rather than offering a path to personal happiness or self-improvement, Jesus paints a picture of saving faith that recognizes sin, depends on grace, and trusts God for eternal life. In this week’s episode, we explore: Why the Beatitudes are not a checklist for a better life, but a description of people who inherit the kingdom of heavenWhat Jesus means by calling the poor in spirit, the meek, and the persecuted “blessed”How the Beatitudes reveal the sharp divide between those in God’s favor and those under judgmentThe four core convictions of saving faith: Recognize, Embrace, Accept, and Lean (R.E.A.L faith)Why future hope, not present comfort, defines who is truly fortunateHow Jesus’ teaching exposes the lies we believe about God, ourselves, and where real life is foundAfter listening, you’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what saving faith is—and what it is not. You’ll see how the Beatitudes describe the heart posture of those who trust God rather than themselves, and why faith is ultimately about where you are headed, not how comfortable you are now.    Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    50 min
  3. FEB 18

    03 If All Religions Lead to God, Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

    Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 3 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.  If all religions lead to God, why did Jesus have to die? This episode walks through John 3:14–21 to show why the cross is not one option among many, but God’s gracious and necessary provision for a guilty world. Through Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nicodemus and the Old Testament story of the bronze serpent, we see why believing in Jesus is the only way to escape condemnation and receive eternal life.  In this week’s episode, we explore: The tension many Christians feel between “all religions are valid” and “Jesus is the only way” and why both cannot be trueHow Jesus challenges Nicodemus’ assumptions about religion, knowledge, and spiritual rebirthThe wilderness story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 and how it prepares us to understand the crossWhat it means for the Son of Man to be “lifted up,” and why simply looking to Christ in faith is God’s appointed way of rescueHow John 3:16–17 reveals God’s heart: not to condemn the world, but to save it through His SonAfter listening, you’ll come away with a clearer grasp of why the cross was necessary, why belief in Jesus matters so profoundly, and how your response to Him reveals the true condition of your heart.   Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    35 min
  4. FEB 11

    02 Why Can't You Just Try Harder to Be Good?

    Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 2 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.  Why do you still feel guilty even after you’ve apologized and tried to move on? In this episode, Krisan Marotta walks through Romans 1:18–32 to show that guilt is more than a feeling to shake off—it’s the real and serious result of rebelling against a holy God. Paul’s words expose a pattern of rebellion, death, and wrath that explains why life unravels without God, and why real guilt can only be answered by real forgiveness in Christ.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why confusion about sin and guilt is so widespread—even among ChristiansHow Romans 1:18–32 fits into Paul’s larger argument about justification by faithWhat it means that God’s wrath “is revealed” now, not just on a future Judgment DayHow creation itself leaves us “without excuse” before GodThe repeated pattern Paul traces: rebellion, death, and God “giving them over”Why idolatry begins with what we see, captures our hearts, and then reshapes our bodies and behaviorHow “respectable” sins like gossip, pride, and arrogance reveal the same underlying exchange of truth for a lieWhy God’s wrath is not a temper tantrum, but a just decision to hand us over to what we insist on havingHow this bleak diagnosis prepares us to understand and cherish the hope held out in the gospelAfter listening, you’ll see guilt in a new light, not as something to ignore or manage, but as a truthful indicator that you need more than a fresh start. You’ll come away with a clearer grasp of what Romans 1 teaches about sin, spiritual death, and God’s wrath, and you’ll be better prepared to understand why the good news of Jesus is not just helpful advice, but the only way out of the prison of sin and death.  Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    38 min
  5. FEB 4

    01 If Grace Covers All Sin, Why Not Keep Sinning?

    Today we’re kicking off a new season of the podcast which is a special companion series to my book, Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity. Each episode will walk you through one of the book’s “See for Yourself” passages, helping you read Scripture with confidence, even if you’re just starting out. Today's passage is from Chapter 1. Most people today assume we’re basically good—and that sin is a few bad choices sprinkled on top. In this episode, Krisan Marotta walks through Romans 6:15–7:6 to show why that view quietly empties the gospel of its power. Paul’s argument reveals that grace doesn’t make sin safer; it exposes just how destructive it really is—and why understanding sin is the first step toward real hope.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why believing we’re “born innocent” blinds us to our need for a SaviorHow Paul answers the objection, “If grace covers all sin, why not keep sinning?” (Romans 6:15) What it means to be a “slave” either to sin or to righteousness—and how that shapes the quality of your daily life How the Bible defines “death” as more than physical dying: a present experience of decay, futility, and relational breakdown Why sin always pays out in death, even for believers whose eternal inheritance is secure (Romans 6:23) Why the law could expose sin but never cure it—and how it actually inflamed our rebellion (Romans 7:1–6) Paul’s marriage analogy for being released from the law so that we can “belong to another,” to Christ, and bear fruit for God How the Holy Spirit, not human willpower, becomes the new way we serve God “in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what sin really is, why it always brings some kind of death into your life, and why grace is not permission to drift but the power that frees you from slavery to sin.  Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    41 min
  6. 12/03/2025

    The King and Priest Who Came at Christmas (Psalm 110)

    Psalm 110 doesn’t mention a manger, shepherds, or angels. Yet it gives us one of the clearest pictures of who the baby in Bethlehem really is: the eternal King and Priest who will rule over all and bring His people back to God.  In this Christmas episode, we trace how Psalm 110 reveals the identity and mission of the Messiah and how the New Testament writers apply this ancient psalm directly to Jesus.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why it matters that Psalm 110 is “a Psalm of David” and how Jesus Himself uses that authorship to reveal the Messiah’s greatness What it means for the Messiah to sit at God’s right hand and how that image explains the authority and scope of His reignHow the promise that enemies will become a “footstool” points to a final, decisive victory over all evil and opposition to GodThe surprising declaration that the Messiah is “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” and why that matters more than the Levitical priesthoodHow Matthew 22, Acts 2, and 1 Corinthians 15 each reach back to Psalm 110 to identify Jesus as David’s Lord, God’s chosen King, and our eternal Priest What Psalm 110 adds to our understanding of Christmas: not just the birth of a child, but the arrival of the One who will rule, judge, and reconcile foreverAfter listening, you’ll come away with a clearer, richer vision of who Jesus is at Christmas, not only the promised son of David, but the greater Lord whom David himself calls “my Lord.” You’ll see how Psalm 110 anchors the Christmas story in God’s larger purpose: a reigning King, a forever Priest, and a sure promise that history is moving toward the day when every enemy is subdued and God’s people stand secure in His kingdom. Series: Christmas Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

    46 min
4.9
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

Wednesday in the Word is a verse-by-verse Bible study podcast that explains what the Bible means and how we know. Hosted by Bible teacher Krisan Marotta, each episode walks through a passage in plain language, digging into context, key words, and big ideas so you can study with confidence. With over 500 episodes, global listeners, and more than 15 years of teaching, Wednesday in the Word offers clear, in-depth Bible teaching with no ads, no donation requests—just free, accessible Bible study for anyone who wants to grow. 

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