Catechizing Conversations

Cisco Victa
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Christianity

Podcast Description A ministry of Victa Leadership and Lebanon Valley PCA Catechizing Conversations is a podcast devoted to teaching the historic Reformed confessions—Westminster, Heidelberg, Belgic, and more—helping believers understand and live out the deep truths of confessional Christianity. Rooted in Scripture and the rich theological tradition of the Reformation, each episode offers accessible teaching and meaningful discussion. We also feature interviews with local ministry leaders throughout Lebanon County, highlighting the work Christ is doing in our community and encouraging connection within the broader body of Christ.

  1. 2d ago

    Why The Health And Wealth Gospel Warps Faith (Part 3)

    Send us Fan Mail If someone tells you God’s will is always your wealth and perfect health, what does that say about Jesus, the apostles, and faithful Christians lying in hospital beds right now? We take a careful look at why the health and wealth gospel (prosperity gospel, Word of Faith teaching) is not a harmless emphasis but a different message that reshapes the meaning of faith, grace, blessing, and healing into a spiritual transaction. We start with a simple contrast: biblical faith is receiving and resting on Christ for salvation, not a technique for unlocking a higher income or a diagnosis-free life. Then we follow Scripture’s own warning that deception often rises from inside the church, not outside it. Acts 20’s image of “fierce wolves” helps explain why prosperity teaching spreads so easily through Christian networks and why it can feel familiar even when it’s twisting the gospel. From there we press into the hard questions. Why does Paul treat a different gospel as accursed in Galatians? What happens to the story of Jesus as the suffering servant if poverty and suffering are always framed as a curse? How do we make sense of Job, the persecuted church, and Paul’s unanswered plea about his thorn in the flesh? We also respond to the claim that “suffering” in the Bible only means persecution, and we talk about the real Christian hope of total healing in the life to come without blaming sufferers today. Subscribe for the next conversation, share this with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s the most convincing prosperity claim you’ve heard, and how did you answer it? Support the show

    Why The Health And Wealth Gospel Warps Faith (Part 3)

  2. Jul 7

    Delivered From the Health and Wealth "Gospel" (Part 2)--- Cisco Shares His Testimony

    Send us Fan Mail Prosperity theology doesn’t just get a few verses wrong, it shrinks the gospel until Jesus becomes a means to a better lifestyle. We open with a blunt warning: the health and wealth gospel promises what God never guaranteed, then leaves wounded people to carry the blame when the promise fails. If you’ve ever wondered why this movement keeps growing, or why it feels so convincing in the moment, we name the real pull and the real harm. We dig into Costi Hinn’s firsthand account from inside the Word of Faith world, where luxury, celebrity, and stage-managed “miracles” can look like God’s favor. Cisco and Micah talk through the slow “cracks” that expose the system: the uneasy contrast between opulence and struggling staff, and the sobering reality of crusades where sick and suffering people arrive desperate and leave unchanged. That tension forces a question prosperity preaching can’t answer without blaming the victim: if faith is a controllable force, why doesn’t it work for everyone? Then Cisco shares his own story of theological shift, including the books and sermons God used to reorient his faith toward the sovereignty of God and Christ-centered, expository preaching. We talk candidly about what it can cost to walk away: lost networks, financial hardship, and lonely years of rebuilding. We also address the common jab that confessional churches “don’t believe in the Spirit” and explain why a biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit rejects counterfeit spirituality while longing for true revival through Word, prayer, and the means of grace. If you want clarity, courage, and practical next steps for testing teaching by Scripture, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find a richer gospel than prosperity promises. Support the show

    Delivered From the Health and Wealth "Gospel" (Part 2)--- Cisco Shares His Testimony

  3. Jun 30

    Coaching Works Best When We Stop Trying To Fix People: A Conversation with Author and Coach Vinny Tauriello (Part 2)

    Send us Fan Mail Most of us are trained to give answers fast, especially in ministry and leadership. But what if the better move is to slow down, listen longer, and ask the kind of question that helps someone finally see what is driving them? We sit down with Rev. Vincent Tauriello , pastor, professional coach, and founder of By Design Coaching, to talk about the theological foundations behind sound coaching practice and his new book, Drawing Out the Heart.  We start with Proverbs 20:5 and the image of “deep water,” a reminder that people are not simple problems to solve. Coaching approaches every person as an image bearer of God, worthy of respect, curiosity, and careful attention, even when the heart is conflicted or clouded by sin and “limiting beliefs.” We talk about why coaching is not just for corporate leaders, how it can serve discipleship and sanctification without taking ownership away from the person, and why the goal is discovery before advice.  Vinny also breaks down his practical Four Cs coaching framework: Connect, Clarify, Create, and Close. You’ll hear how open “What” questions can produce real “aha moments,” why awareness needs to come before action steps, and how this style of conversation can lower stress for pastors by helping people take responsibility for their next faithful step. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review.  For more information on Vinny's coaching, visit: www.bydesigncoaching.net To purchase Vinny's new book, visit: Drawing out the Heart: Theological Foundations for Sound Coaching Practice: Tauriello, Vincent: 9798253700198: Amazon.com: Books For information on Victa Leadership, visit www.victaleadership.com Support the show

    Coaching Works Best When We Stop Trying To Fix People: A Conversation with Author and Coach Vinny Tauriello (Part 2)

  4. Jun 23

    The Danger of the Health and Wealth "Gospel" (Part 1)

    Send us Fan Mail Error doesn’t show up wearing a warning label. It shows up dressed in Christian language, quoting Scripture, and promising the one thing our culture already tells us to chase: the life that looks successful. That’s why we’re starting a special multi-episode series on the prosperity gospel, also known as the health and wealth gospel or the Word of Faith movement. We want to name what it teaches, why it feels so convincing, and why we believe it’s not good news at all. We talk through the real-world versions of the message many people hear, from late-night TV appeals that turn giving into a transaction to public “healing” claims that use Isaiah 53 to argue sickness should alweays be healed in the "here and now." We connect those claims to Paul’s blunt warning in Galatians 1: there is “a different gospel,” and the church cannot treat it lightly. Along the way, we make an important distinction between prosperity teachers and many charismatic and Pentecostal Christians who faithfully preach Christ while rejecting Word of Faith extremes. The heart of the problem is a bait-and-switch with definitions. Prosperity preaching keeps Bible words but swaps their meaning, turning faith into a tool for getting what we want and blessing into a synonym for money and perfect health. We push back with Scripture, especially Hebrews 11, and with historic Christian teaching that faith leans on Christ rather than manipulating God. If you’ve been confused by these claims, harmed by them, or just want sharper discernment, walk with us through this series. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find it. Support the show

    The Danger of the Health and Wealth "Gospel" (Part 1)

  5. Jun 16

    Why Christians Believe The Body Matters: Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 4 (Part 2)

    Send us Fan Mail Your view of the human body is never “just theology.” It quietly shapes how you treat sex, work, suffering, dignity, and even what you think salvation is. We pick up in Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 4 on creation and move from the physical side of humanity to the confession’s striking phrase: “reasonable and immortal souls.”  We talk through classic Christian anthropology and why the historic Reformed approach speaks of a unified human person with body and soul, not a prison-body you need to escape. Along the way, we contrast Christian teaching with Greek and gnostic-style dualism that treats matter as inherently evil, and we press into the biblical hope that redemption includes the resurrection of the body and the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. That hope is not abstract. It is why Paul can say the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and why embodied sins, including sexual immorality, matter in a unique way.  From there we explore what it means to be created “reasonable”: why Christians can value the scientific method, why careful biblical interpretation and hermeneutics matter, and how sin warps the mind as well as the heart. We also dig into the image of God, the cultural mandate, and why human dignity is grounded in God’s design rather than our usefulness or intelligence. Finally, we close with a bracing vision of glorification drawn from classic catechetical theology: a coming state where we will freely choose only the good, obey God fully, and abhor sin forever.  If this helped you love God’s Word and think more clearly about the Westminster Confession of Faith, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. Support the show

    Why Christians Believe The Body Matters: Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 4 (Part 2)

  6. Jun 2

    Created Male And Female: Westminster Confession Chapter 4

    Send us Fan Mail If someone told you your body is just optional hardware and the “real you” is whatever you feel inside, would you have the words to answer back with clarity and compassion? We open Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 4 and take up a deceptively simple claim with massive consequences: God created the world, and after making all other creatures, he created mankind male and female with body and soul. That confession is not a dusty line from church history. It is a direct challenge to the modern scramble over identity, gender, and what it means to be human.  We talk about creation in the space of six days and why the Westminster divines focused on what Scripture emphasizes: God’s deliberate work and the verdict that creation is very good. Then we move into the pressure points Christians feel right now, where the debate has shifted from timing to anthropology. We contrast Genesis 1:27 with rival stories, including Plato’s myth of the androgyne and its modern echoes in arguments that sexual difference is merely constructed, oppressive, or endlessly flexible.  From there we tackle transhumanism, the vision of the body as rearrangeable “meat Lego,” and why that logic shows up everywhere from life extension fantasies to everyday tech habits. Finally, we re-center on a biblical theology of the body: the incarnation as God’s ultimate endorsement of embodied life, the resurrection of the body, and a real new heaven and new earth. Along the way we touch practical ethics, mercy ministry, and why Christians care about physical suffering without reducing the mission of the church to social work. Subscribe, share this with a friend who is asking hard questions about identity.  Support the show

    Created Male And Female: Westminster Confession Chapter 4

  7. May 26

    Drawing Out The Heart: A Conversation with Author and Coach Vinny Tauriello

    Send us Fan Mail Leadership can feel like carrying everyone else’s weight while having nowhere safe to set down your own. That is why we sat down with Reverend Vincent Torriello, pastor, professional coach, and founder of By Design Coaching, to talk about  coaching that is both practical and  rooted in theology. His new book Drawing Out the Heart: Theological Foundations for Sound Coaching Practice makes a clear case that coaching is not a trendy add-on, but a way of helping leaders grow through wise questions and genuine listening.  We dig into what coaching is and what it is not. Coaching is not preaching, teaching, mentoring, consulting, or counseling, even though it can complement all of them. Instead of “downloading” answers, coaching draws out what God has already formed in a person made in His image and, for believers, what the Holy Spirit is already stirring. We talk about Proverbs 20:5 and why that picture of “deep waters” captures the heart of the coaching relationship, especially for pastors and ministry leaders who are expected to be strong but are rarely developed after ordination.  One of the most striking parts of the conversation is the biblical pattern of God asking questions and listening intently. From Genesis to the Gospels, God’s questions create clarity, ownership, and movement, and Vinny argues that this posture shapes sound coaching practice. We also explore why leaders need a confidential thinking partner, why a coach focuses on the person rather than merely fixing problems, and how coaching skills can strengthen discipleship, staff leadership, and church culture. If you care about pastoral health, leadership development, and practical ministry wisdom, listen through and then share it with a leader who needs it. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what is one area where you wish someone would help you think instead of telling you what to do? For more information on Vinny's coaching, visit: www.bydesigncoaching.net To purchase Vinny's new book, visit: Drawing out the Heart: Theological Foundations for Sound Coaching Practice: Tauriello, Vincent: 9798253700198: Amazon.com: Books For information on Victa Leadership, visit www.victaleadership.com Support the show

    Drawing Out The Heart: A Conversation with Author and Coach Vinny Tauriello

  8. May 19

    Let's Talk About Predestination! (Westminster Confession of Faith Chap. 3) Part 2

    Send us Fan Mail Predestination can feel like the doctrine that turns God into a math problem or a monster, depending on who’s talking. We refuse both options. Walking carefully through Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 3, we wrestle with God’s eternal decree, why Scripture speaks so plainly about election and reprobation, and why the confession insists this “high mystery” must be handled with special prudence and care. We define terms, then tackle the big objections: Is this unfair? Does it make God the author of sin? What do we do with passages like Romans 9 alongside 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9? Along the way we lean on the wider biblical witness, explain why Reformed theology rejects “equal ultimacy,” and clarify preterition: God effectually saves the elect, while those who are condemned are judged for their sins, not for lacking a label. We also bring in R.C. Sproul’s framework on justice and mercy to show why mercy, by definition, is never owed and why that matters for how we talk about grace. This isn’t abstract theology for armchair debate. We keep asking what the doctrine is for: assurance of salvation, humility before God, courage to preach the gospel to all, and consolation for believers who want to rest in Christ’s promise that no one will snatch His sheep from His hand. If you’ve struggled with Calvinism, free will, the problem of evil, or the fear that predestination destroys evangelism, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves hard questions, and leave a review with your toughest objection or your most honest question. Support the show

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Podcast Description A ministry of Victa Leadership and Lebanon Valley PCA Catechizing Conversations is a podcast devoted to teaching the historic Reformed confessions—Westminster, Heidelberg, Belgic, and more—helping believers understand and live out the deep truths of confessional Christianity. Rooted in Scripture and the rich theological tradition of the Reformation, each episode offers accessible teaching and meaningful discussion. We also feature interviews with local ministry leaders throughout Lebanon County, highlighting the work Christ is doing in our community and encouraging connection within the broader body of Christ.

Information

  • Creator
    Cisco Victa
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Catechizing Conversations
  • Show Website
    Catechizing Conversations

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