Westminster Media

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Channel • 2 Shows

Christianity

Christianity

Updated Feb 2
Christianity

Christianity

Updated 10/06/2023

3D AGO

Seeing Christ in Lamentations w/ Jeremy Menicucci

In this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon is joined again by Jeremy Manacuchi for a searching exploration of the Book of Lamentations, one of Scripture’s most haunting and least-studied books. Beginning with the stark poetry of Jerusalem’s fall, they situate Lamentations within its historical context: the Babylonian siege, exile, and the covenantal judgment foretold in Deuteronomy. The discussion traces why the book is so emotionally and theologically difficult: its graphic imagery, its honest depiction of divine wrath, and its profound sense of abandonment, while also arguing for its enduring pastoral value. Far from being marginal, Lamentations confronts suffering head-on as the just response to sin, spoken from within the lived experience of God’s people. At the heart of the conversation is Lamentations 3, the structural and theological center of the book. Jeremy presents a compelling Christological reading in which “the man who has seen affliction” bears the full weight of God’s wrath, descends into the pit, and yet emerges with renewed hope grounded in the steadfast love of the Lord. Read as a carefully crafted whole, Lamentations moves from darkness to a single, blazing moment of hope, one that ultimately points beyond Jerusalem’s ruin to Christ himself. In that light, Lamentations is not merely a book of grief, but a profound witness to God’s covenant faithfulness, offering hope to sinners and sufferers alike through the one who was forsaken so that God might once again say to his people, “Do not fear.”

3d ago

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1h 8m
FEB 2

John Murray and the Westminster Tradition w/ Paul Woo

In this episode, Paul Woo recounts how his academic path converged with his personal theological journey. Though initially trained in seventeenth-century theology, his long-standing passion for Presbyterian history led him to accept an unexpected invitation to pursue doctoral research on John Murray. Murray’s influence, was first felt in reading Murray on Romans 6. Definitive sanctification gave him new categories for understanding the Christian struggle against sin as a battle fought from union with Christ, where Scripture’s imperatives rest on real spiritual power rather than desperation. That spiritual and theological foundation made the doctoral opportunity compelling. Surveying Murray’s lecture notes on the Westminster Standards revealed a meticulous historical theologian, overturning the common assumption that Murray was only a precise biblical exegete rather than a scholar deeply engaged with primary historical sources. Paul then outlines his emerging dissertation project, provisionally titled John Murray the Westminsterian, which will explore how Murray’s Scottish Presbyterian heritage and confessional commitments shaped his theology, and how in turn he helped shape Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church through his work on the denomination’s confession. The conversation widens to his recent research on Trinitarian doctrine at the Westminster Assembly, particularly debates over the Son’s aseity and Calvin’s doctrine of autotheos, showing how historical dogmatics and confessional theology intersect in his work. He also discusses his editorial research for P&R Publishing’s Warfield reprints, describing the painstaking but rewarding labor of tracing Warfield’s vast multilingual sources, and reflecting on how modern digital access has transformed historical scholarship. The episode closes with reflections on Murray’s enduring legacy as both scholar and pastor, his reputation for prayer and piety, and recommendations for readers approaching Murray for the first time (especially his sermons and Redemption Accomplished and Applied) as an entry point into a theology where rigorous exegesis, historical consciousness, and lived communion with Christ remain inseparable. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Feb 2

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44 min
JAN 26

Scripture and Creed: How Mark's Gospel Leads Us to Nicaea w/ Dr. Brandon Crowe

In this episode of the Westminster Podcast, host Nate Shannon welcomes Dr. Brandon Crowe to discuss the relationship between Scripture and the Nicene Creed in the 1700th anniversary year of the Council of Nicaea. Drawing from his recent paper, Christology: Mark on the Road to Nicaea, Crowe explains how creeds arise from Scripture rather than being imposed upon it, functioning as faithful summaries and syntheses of the Bible’s teaching. He explores how extra-biblical theological language—such as homoousios and the doctrine of the Trinity—serves to clarify Scripture’s meaning when purely biblical phrasing proves vulnerable to misinterpretation. The conversation highlights the “hermeneutical spiral” between creed and Scripture: the creed guides faithful reading of the Bible, while Scripture remains the final authority that continually tests the creed. Crowe then turns to the Gospel of Mark to demonstrate how Nicene Christology emerges from the biblical text itself. Challenging historical-critical approaches that fragment the Gospel or diminish its theology, he argues for reading Mark as a coherent narrative shaped by Old Testament imagery. He outlines four key ways Mark presents Christ’s divine identity: the Father-Son relationship, theophanies, divine saving works, and divine claims made by Jesus. Particular attention is given to episodes such as Jesus walking on the water, interpreted as an Old Testament-shaped theophany revealing God’s presence in Christ. The episode concludes by emphasizing that classical creedal Christology does not restrict careful exegesis but provides theological guardrails that enable deeper, more faithful reading of Scripture. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Jan 26

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40 min
JAN 12

Hope in the Midst of Ruin: The Theology of Lamentations w/ Jeremy Menicucci

This week Nate Shannon speaks with Westminster doctoral student Jeremy Menicucci about his journey to Westminster, his pastoral background, and his doctoral research on the Book of Lamentations. They focus on Jeremy’s dissertation work on Hebrew poetry, focusing especially on deviations from unmarked word order in Lamentations. He explains how poetic structure, acrostic form, and word order function not merely as literary devices but as vehicles for theological meaning. Lamentations, he argues, is carefully structured as a chiasm with chapter 3 at its center—a chapter that uniquely holds out hope through a profound declaration of God’s sovereignty and a strikingly Christological portrait of “the man” who bears God’s wrath. The episode closes with a rich pastoral reflection on suffering, comfort, and the sovereignty of God, offering listeners guidance on how to read Lamentations faithfully and how its theology equips believers to grieve, hope, and minister wisely in the midst of profound loss. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Jan 12

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1h 1m
11/17/2025

Confessional Statescraft: From Christian Nationalism to Machen's Libertarianism w/ James Baird

This week Brandon McLean Smith speaks with Dr. James Baird. His book "King of Kings: A Reformed Guide to Christian Government" presents a case for the government's responsibility to promote and protect Christianity as the true religion. While this topic has become controversial, James stakes his claim in the soil of Reformed theology, redemptive-historical hermeneutics, while avoiding the pitfalls of premillenialism and theonomy. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

11/17/2025

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49 min
09/29/2025

Reformed Royalty: From Switzerland to WTS via Bonn w/ James Beevers

James Beevers is a PhD student at Westminster and he has an interesting personal history. He comes from a WTS family in that his father is an alumnus from the PhD program and his mother from the MAC program. But his reformed roots go potentially so deep that he may be related to Theodore Beza himself. Lineage aside, Nate and James also chat about his dissertation topic, the warning passages in Hebrews, as well as various other topics. Sign up for the Preaching conference here ⁠⁠⁠https://wtspreachingconference25.rsvpify.com⁠⁠ If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

09/29/2025

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49 min
TRAILER

The Church in Turkey: Gospel Witness, Cultural Cost, and Christian Hope w/ Göksel Erdoğdu

In this episode of The Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon speaks from Istanbul with Göksel Erdoğdu, the first—and so far only—graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary from Turkey. Göksel shares his remarkable personal story as a second-generation Christian in a predominantly Muslim context, recounting how the gospel first came to his family amid social pressure, cultural shame, and political instability. From his upbringing in the Turkish church to his theological formation at Westminster, Göksel reflects on God’s faithfulness in sustaining both faith and witness across generations. The conversation explores the present state of the church in Turkey, including the legal challenges facing Protestant congregations, the need for sound theological resources, and the growing hunger among younger believers for serious engagement with Scripture. Göksel also describes his current ministry work as a pastor, publisher, and translator, and explains how Westminster’s emphasis on biblical foundations, apologetics, and cultural engagement has shaped his approach to ministry in a Muslim context. The episode concludes with a call to prayer and partnership, inviting listeners to consider how God may be at work in Turkey—and how the global church can faithfully support that work. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Trailer

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38 min
12/29/2025

Creation Ordered to Christ: Bavinck and the Lapsarian Debate w/ Bryan Selby

In this episode of The Westminster Podcast, Brandon McLean Smith is joined again by Brian Selby for a wide-ranging theological conversation on Herman Bavinck, Christology, and the enduring significance of the infralapsarian–supralapsarian debate. Selby explores recent developments in Bavinck scholarship, arguing that Bavinck is far more decisive than often assumed in ordering creation, fall, and redemption with a view to Christ as the telos of all things—while firmly rejecting problematic forms of “incarnation anyway.” Drawing on Bavinck’s engagement with Scripture, the Reformed tradition, and his 19th-century theological context, the conversation situates Bavinck as a critical foil to later neo-orthodox developments, particularly Karl Barth. The discussion also broadens to consider theological retrieval and method. Selby and Smith reflect on how Bavinck models a distinctly Reformed approach to engaging modern questions without surrendering confessional commitments—retrieving the tradition without mere repristination, and advancing dogmatics in service of the church’s witness in every age. Along the way, they address Christocentrism, revelation, apologetics, and the task of theology in a changing intellectual landscape, offering a compelling vision of how historic Reformed theology can remain faithful, catholic, and intellectually alive today. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

12/29/2025

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1h 11m
06/30/2025

The Book of James w/ Brandon Crowe pt. 1: James 1

Nate and Dr. Brandon Crowe begin a series on the book of James. Dr. Crowe has not one, but two books on the book of James coming out in the next year. One is a full commentary on the book of James and the other is a popular level book on James. In the coming weeks they will be going chapter by chapter through James discussing the theology and structure of the book, its audience, and what makes it unique. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠wm.wts.edu⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠wts.edu/donate⁠. Thanks for listening.

06/30/2025

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55 min
JAN 19

Revelation, Illumination, and the Apostles’ Reading of the Old Testament w/ Augustus Lopes and Blake Franze

In this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon and Blake Franze welcome Dr. Augustus Nicodemus Lopez, Westminster alumnus, pastor, theologian, and former chancellor of Mackenzie University in São Paulo. Broadcasting from Istanbul during the Nicaea Conference, they reflect on Dr. Lopez’s lecture on Colossians and deep Christology before turning to his formative years at Westminster in the early 1990s. He recounts studying under Moses Silva, wrestling with liberal European scholarship during his doctoral work, and how faithful mentorship preserved his confidence in Scripture during a season of profound doubt. Dr. Lopez also discusses his dissertation on Paul’s use of the Old Testament, the distinction between revelation and illumination, and how Westminster’s rigorous training equipped him for preaching, scholarship, and academic leadership across the globe. The conversation then shifts to contemporary challenges facing the church, particularly the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the theological tensions raised by the global Pentecostal movement. Dr. Lopez argues that questions of Spirit, revelation, and spiritual gifts represent the most pressing frontier for confessional orthodoxy today. He also shares his conviction about using social media as a mission field—reaching closed communities, discipling young believers, and providing pastoral presence throughout the week—while warning against the dangers of unaccountable online ministry. The episode concludes with his hope that Westminster will continue equipping leaders from the global South, extending confessional, pious, and academically excellent theological education to the worldwide church. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Jan 19

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41 min

Westminster Media is the digital publishing and production ministry of Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA. To learn more about Westminster, its mission to train specialists in the Bible, and how you can support podcasts like these, please visit the link below.

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Top Shows

Seeing Christ in Lamentations w/ Jeremy Menicucci

John Murray and the Westminster Tradition w/ Paul Woo

Scripture and Creed: How Mark's Gospel Leads Us to Nicaea w/ Dr. Brandon Crowe

Hope in the Midst of Ruin: The Theology of Lamentations w/ Jeremy Menicucci

Confessional Statescraft: From Christian Nationalism to Machen's Libertarianism w/ James Baird

Reformed Royalty: From Switzerland to WTS via Bonn w/ James Beevers

The Church in Turkey: Gospel Witness, Cultural Cost, and Christian Hope w/ Göksel Erdoğdu

Creation Ordered to Christ: Bavinck and the Lapsarian Debate w/ Bryan Selby

The Book of James w/ Brandon Crowe pt. 1: James 1

Revelation, Illumination, and the Apostles’ Reading of the Old Testament w/ Augustus Lopes and Blake Franze

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