Back to Rurality

Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: In this episode of the podcast, TJ Freeman, a rural pastor, addresses the challenge many Christians face of not regularly engaging with the Bible. He shares personal stories of his own struggles and how finding a different translation helped him understand Scripture better. TJ emphasizes the importance of prioritizing time for Bible reading, offers practical tips for integrating it into a busy schedule, and explains the benefits of deep engagement with God's Word.

Key Points:

• Reading the Bible as a Chore: Many Christians go through seasons where reading the Bible is easier and others where it feels like a while since we’ve spent time with the Lord. Even though it’s a hard truth to stomach, many times this is because we are not rightly prioritizing time in the Word. We need to remember that spending time in the Word is more important than lots of things we do in a day.
• Why it’s Worth it: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that the Word is profitable for us. We can know that reading the Bible will only benefit us! It teaches reproofs, corrects, and trains us in righteousness. Since God created us, we can only be whole if we are spending time with Him in His Word. The more we read, the more we are equipped to live like Christ.
• How to Read the Bible: Commit to more than just reading one verse or chapter a day and just being done with it. Read it, draw some observations from it, try to interpret it, find some applications to your own life, and then pray through that text. Start with a smaller portion of Scripture and spend some time really reflecting on it.

Listener Takeaways:

• Pick up a translation of the Bible that you understand. If you can’t understand what you’re reading well, you will have a hard time meditating on it. Sometimes we need to read a different translation to help us get into the Word more. Study notes can also be an aid in our understanding of the Bible.
• When you sit down to read God’s Word, take a second to pray and ask the Lord to help you understand it. Ask also that it would transform your heart and mind.
• Go back to episode four of this podcast to hear more about how to read the Bible!

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: In this episode of Back to Rurality, TJ Freeman, a rural pastor, delves into whether Christians should listen to Christian radio. He shares that we should listen to songs, radio hosts, and radio preaching with discernment. TJ also shares some helpful examples through his own experience with radio. If you feel like this might be a silly question to ask, this episode is for you!

Key Points:

• Avoiding Emotionalism: When TJ started listening to Christian radio, he really enjoyed it and it became a source of encouragement to him. Things started to take a turn when TJ started to rely more on the radio than his time in God’s Word and prayer with the Lord.
• The Purpose of Songs: We see in Colossians 3:16 that God means to use songs to form us and shape us to be more like his son. It is a good thing when the songs we’re hearing are helping us meditate on things that are true to the Word of God. It is bad when we are listening to songs that are singing untrue things about God.
• Benefits of Christian Radio: Rural people who may not have access to a grand theological library or a counseling center, can have access to fantastic sermons and other resources from their cars or own living rooms! You can have these resources right when you may need them, especially when you’re having a tough day. Listening to Christian radio also helps us connect us to the broader church. It is good to hear from Christians outside of our little bubbles whether that be missionaries or pastors from different parts of the world.
• Shallow Theology: Christians should be careful when they listen to Christian Radio because often times the songs or artists can have wrong or just shallow theology. We need to remember that the songs we listen to shape our thoughts and our worship, so be careful and use discernment.

Listener Takeaways:

• When you are listening to the radio, ask yourself if this is helping you understand what the Bible says? Use discernment when listening to songs or sermons on the radio. Don’t just trust the artists because they’re on the radio!
• Don’t let Christian radio be your only source of encouragement. It should not be a replacement for your relationship with the Lord. Prioritize time in the Word and time in prayer.
• Consider listening to some older hymns every one and awhile for some deep and profound songs. These hymns are often also written by people who we can know were trustworthy Christians. Let some older saints come alongside you in worship!

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' host TJ Freeman discusses the sense of isolation that can come from living in rural areas and how it can make you feel distant from God. TJ is joined by guest CJ Dematitis, who shares his journey from an urban upbringing in D.C. and Baltimore to finding God glorifying ministry in rural Pennsylvania. They explore the challenges and blessings of rural life, emphasizing the importance of Scripture, community, and sitting under good preaching in deepening one's faith. CJ recounts how God's creation and supportive friends helped him feel less isolated and helped him grow more spiritually. They explain the need for expositional preaching and reliance on God's Word, encouraging listeners to seek out a healthy church.

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: In this episode of 'Back to Rurality,' TJ Freeman discusses spiritual gifts, their importance, and how to identify and use them effectively. He emphasizes that every Christian has unique spiritual gifts meant to glorify God and build up the church.

Key Points:

• One Body, Many Parts: In Romans 12 we read that the church is one unified body made up by many different parts. Each part has their own vital gifting to serve the church. The church is dependent on one another.
• The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts: God has granted each Christian spiritual giftings not so they can show them off, or take pride in them, but so that they can build up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are meant to be used to aid one's fellow church members.
• The Joy of Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual gifts are not a burden or an unwanted responsibility. They are gifts meant to pass on to others. God made the church to find their joy in Him and one of the best ways to experience this joy is to serve others.

Listener Takeaways:

• Don't rely on spiritual gift tests, instead consider one's abilities, desires and one's church's needs, and use those to actively serve and engage within the local church community.
• Try not to fall into the temptation to be a "Lone Ranger" Christian. Christians are meant to be interdependent on one another.

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook

Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: This episode of the Back to Rurality podcast, hosted by TJ Freeman, focuses on how to wisely invest in a local church, especially in rural areas where options may be limited. Freeman acknowledges the challenges of finding a healthy church and discusses the pitfalls of approaching church selection with a consumerist mindset.

Key Points:

• The Problem of a Consumerist Mindset: Freeman addresses that choosing a church based on their friendliness, look, music selection, or any other nonessential reason is not how to pick a good church home.
• Understanding and Teaching the Gospel: If a church does not proclaim the truth of the Gospel it is not a church. If the truths of the gospel are not taught regularly and believed by the members then it is not a church worth investing in.
• Faithfully Preaching the Word: The pastor does not have to be the next Charles Spurgeon, but he does need to open his Bible and teach the congregation the best he can the emphasis of the text.
• Administering Sacraments Regularly: The church needs to take part in regular baptism and the Lord's Supper. The regularity can vary, but the church is required to have them.

Listener Takeaways:

• Just go visit a church. If it meets the three qualifications talk about here, then go to membership class and try to get to know the members.
• Listen as carefully to the preaching as you expect the pastor to be preaching.
• Pray and ask the Lord to grow your church in other healthy ways.
  

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook