Episodes

  • Human Identity and the Image of God in a Confused Age

    Human Identity and the Image of God in a Confused Age
    May 19 2026
    What does it mean to be human? In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins addresses one of the most pressing questions of our time: human identity. In a culture that increasingly teaches people to define themselves by their feelings, desires, and personal expression, Scripture provides a radically different and stable foundation. Anchored in Genesis 1:26–27, this episode explains that human identity is not something we invent—it is something we receive from the God who created us in His image. Dave walks through the biblical storyline of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation to show how identity is grounded in God's design, distorted by sin, and restored through Jesus Christ. This episode also examines the modern worldview often described as expressive individualism, exposing how self-defined identity leads to confusion, instability, and uncertainty. In contrast, the Word of God provides clarity, purpose, and hope. Listeners will be encouraged to think biblically about identity, rest in their identity in Christ, and speak truth with both clarity and compassion in a culture searching for answers. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    33 mins
  • Feelings Are Not Truth: Why God’s Word Must Be Your Authority

    Feelings Are Not Truth: Why God’s Word Must Be Your Authority
    May 16 2026
    In this episode of The Weekly Watch, part of the Contending for the Word podcast, Dave Jenkins addresses a growing cultural belief that feelings determine truth. Phrases like "follow your heart," "trust your feelings," and "live your truth" are widely accepted today, but Scripture presents a very different perspective. Drawing from Jeremiah 17:9, this episode explains why the human heart, affected by sin, is not a reliable guide to truth. Instead of grounding our lives in fluctuating emotions or personal experience, Christians are called to anchor themselves in the unchanging Word of God. This episode explores how emotionalism is shaping modern culture, including therapy culture and social media-driven spirituality, and why these trends often elevate personal experience above biblical truth. Dave also explains the critical distinction between doctrine informing life and life attempting to reshape doctrine, a reversal that leads to confusion, instability, and theological drift. Listeners will be encouraged to grow in biblical discernment, to test all things by Scripture, and to remain rooted in sound doctrine within the context of the local church. The Christian life is not built on feelings, but on the truth of God's Word. For more from Contending for the Word, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    13 mins
  • When Experience Becomes Authority: Why God’s Word Must Interpret Our Feelings

    When Experience Becomes Authority: Why God’s Word Must Interpret Our Feelings
    May 12 2026
    In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins addresses a growing problem in modern Christianity: the tendency to treat personal experience, spiritual impressions, and phrases like "God told me" as authoritative apart from Scripture. Anchored in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, this episode explains why Scripture is God-breathed, sufficient, and the final authority for the Christian life. Dave examines testimony culture, the dangers of private revelation language, and the appeal of experience-driven faith while calling believers back to the stability, clarity, and sufficiency of the Word of God. Christians do experience the work of God in real ways, but those experiences must always be interpreted through Scripture, never the other way around. In a confused age, God's Word remains the sure foundation for His people. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    35 mins
  • Biblical Love vs Cultural Love: Rejoicing in the Truth

    Biblical Love vs Cultural Love: Rejoicing in the Truth
    May 9 2026
    In today's culture, the word love is used constantly—but its meaning is often redefined in ways that separate it from truth. In this episode of The Weekly Watch, Dave Jenkins examines the growing confusion surrounding love and contrasts the cultural definition with the biblical one. Anchored in 1 Corinthians 13:6, this episode explains why true love does not celebrate wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth of God's Word. In this episode, listeners will learn: How culture redefines love as affirmation without truth Why biblical love is connected to holiness and transformation The influence of social media and celebrity Christianity on this issue How the gospel perfectly demonstrates both truth and love How Christians can respond with clarity, humility, and compassion Biblical love is not less loving—it is more loving because it is grounded in the truth of God's Word. As confusion grows, Christians must return again and again to Scripture, allowing God—not culture—to define love. Truth belongs to God, not to culture. Real love always rejoices with the truth. For more episodes of Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    9 mins
  • Biblical Love and Truth: Why Real Compassion Never Abandons God’s Word

    Biblical Love and Truth: Why Real Compassion Never Abandons God’s Word
    May 5 2026
    In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains why biblical love can never be separated from biblical truth. In a culture that increasingly defines compassion as affirmation and treats moral clarity as unloving, this episode helps listeners see that Scripture never places truth and love in opposition. Drawing from Ephesians 4:15, 1 Corinthians 13:6, John 1:14, and the biblical storyline of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation, Dave shows how God defines love, how sin distorts it, how Christ perfectly displays grace and truth, and how Christians can speak the truth in love in a confused age. Biblical love is not less loving. It is more loving because it is grounded in the truth of God's Word. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    42 mins
  • When Culture Calls Evil Good: Standing Firm in God’s Truth

    When Culture Calls Evil Good: Standing Firm in God’s Truth
    May 2 2026
    In this episode of Contending for the Word – Weekly Watch, Dave Jenkins addresses the growing moral confusion in our culture and explains why Christians must remain anchored in the unchanging truth of God's Word. Drawing from Isaiah 5:20, this episode explores the biblical warning against moral inversion, when good is called evil and evil is called good, and shows how that reality is increasingly evident in today's culture. Dave explains how cultural shifts often begin with the redefinition of language, how confusion becomes normalized, and why clarity in the church is essential for faithful Christian living. He also contrasts cultural definitions of love with the biblical understanding of love rooted in truth and holiness. This episode calls believers to stand firm, not in fear or reaction, but in faithful submission to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    10 mins
  • Truth Matters in a Confused Age, A Biblical Worldview and Discernment

    Truth Matters in a Confused Age, A Biblical Worldview and Discernment
    Apr 28 2026
    In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins is joined by Amy Spreeman to discuss biblical truth, worldview, and discernment in a confused age. Together, they examine why the authority and sufficiency of Scripture are essential for Christian faith and practice. Addressing issues such as deconstruction, apostasy, cultural confusion, and doctrinal drift, this conversation calls believers to test everything by the Word of God and to stand firm in the truth. This episode also highlights key themes from Dave's book, The War of the Worldviews, emphasizing that clarity is not optional in a confused age and that Scripture alone provides the foundation for faithful thinking and living. For more from Contending for the Word, visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/ Pick up Dave's new book: https://servantsofgrace.org/product/war-of-worldviews-book/
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • How Christians Stay Grounded in Confusing Times

    How Christians Stay Grounded in Confusing Times
    Apr 25 2026
    How can Christians remain spiritually steady in a confused and unstable age? In this episode of Weekly Watch, part of the Contending for the Word podcast, Dave Jenkins explains how believers stay grounded when cultural pressure, theological controversy, and emotional narratives threaten stability in the Christian life. Drawing from Psalm 1, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Ephesians 4, and Hebrews 12, this episode provides biblical clarity and practical guidance for cultivating discernment without cynicism and faithfulness without fear. In this episode, you'll learn: Why confusion in the church is not new How Scripture forms spiritual stability The difference between discernment and cynicism How to distinguish primary, secondary, and tertiary issues Why the local church is essential for spiritual grounding How believers resist emotionalism by anchoring themselves in God's Word Why endurance and ordinary faithfulness shape mature Christians This episode offers pastoral encouragement for believers who want to live faithfully, think biblically, and remain anchored in Christ during confusing times. 🔗 For more from Contending for the Word: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/
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    13 mins