Reformed Podmatics
Welcome to Reformed Podmatics! Hosted by Pastor Mark VanDyke and Pastor Zac Dewey of Almond Valley CRC in Ripon CA, this podcast exists to promote the vibrant, biblical, and historically informed face of Reformed theology both in our context and beyond.
Episodes
Do you know the REAL Christmas story, as opposed to the popular versions of the story we hear every year around this time? In this week's episode, we spend some time, like Mary herself, marveling at the goodness of God in the Matthew and Luke's accounts of the nativity of Christ our Lord. We get into the date of Christ's birth, the timeline leading up to and after His birth, the story of the shepherds, the wise men, and the slaught...
While it may sound strange to many, the Reformed tradition has had a long and complicated history with regard to the use of the Church Calendar. In some corners it's been outright rejected, whereas in others it's been strongly encouraged. So given that we are currently in the season of Advent and approaching Christmas, we thought it would be fun to sit down and discuss how Reformed Christians can and should use the Church Calendar ...
It's the most wonderful time of the year! As another Christmas season has now descended upon us, we thought it would we'd get a little festive and spend this week's episode ranking our favorite (and least favorite) Christmas carols and songs. Perhaps we'll step on some toes, but more importantly we hope to deepen your appreciation for some of the true gems of this wonderful season where we celebrate the arrival of the Son of God in...
In this week's episode we take a step back to ask the question, What is ministry like in Ripon, California, USA? Part of the goal of every Christian is to understand the mission field in which God has placed them, and so as pastors called to serve Almond Valley CRC in Ripon, CA, we often find ourselves thinking how ministry in Ripon both excites us and is a challenge to us. We hope that even those who live across the world will fin...
Over the past few decades it has become increasingly common throughout the church to relegate the congregational prayer to being merely a segue between other more favored elements of the modern worship service. So in this week's episode, we call for a recovery of the congregational prayer, or as some people have called it, "the long prayer" in the church's gathered worship. We also give some reflections on why this kind of prayer i...
Given recent headlines about the crackdown on illegal gambling in the NBA, we're betting some of you will be interested in this week's topic of discussion: is gambling permissible for the Christian? To answer this question we turn to Scripture and our Catechism for help, as we consider how Christians ought to approach gambling, betting, the lottery, and even stock market investing.
Visit www.almondvalley.org for information abou...
Prompted by the recent peace agreement between Israel and Gaza—and the wide range of reactions it has sparked—this week we ask: how should Christians respond when their political “opponents” accomplish something that’s objectively good? In our polarized age, it can feel almost disloyal to celebrate the other side’s victories. But followers of Jesus serve a King whose kingdom transcends every earthly party and platform. In this epis...
As we grow and mature in our faith we can often find ourselves becoming more and more cynical of everything around us, even beginning to think of cynicism as a sign of maturity. And for those of us who have grown in our theological understanding and awareness, this can be especially true in how we begin to look down on expressions of Christianity we think are less evolved, less enlightened, and less robust. But is this really how t...
One of the perennially challenging questions we face in the Christian life is what we are supposed to do when our heroes in the faith fail theologically or ethically. As Reformed Christians, it's not uncommon to hear accusations against John Calvin for his involvement in the execution of the anti-Trinitarian Michael Servetus or of Jonathan Edwards' defense of slavery on theological grounds. So how are we to think through these thin...
This week's episode comes from a listener question regarding whether or not doubt is allowed in the Christian walk. As we get into the particulars and try to make helpful distinctions for consideration, we hope this is a thought-provoking and pastoral conversation about the very real struggles many Christians face as they to honor and glorify the Lord, even in their intellectual lives.
Visit www.almondvalley.org for information ...
In the Reformed tradition, the Psalms have always played a central role in our worship, piety, and formation. And the reason for this is simple: the Psalms are the hymnbook of Jesus Himself. Joining us week to discuss how this is the case and why this matters is Rev. Peter Holtvluwer, pastor at Ancaster Canadian Reformed Church and editor of a recent 4-volume pastoral commentary on the Psalms entitled Christ's Psalms, Our Psalms.
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In a spirit of semper reformanda and self-examination, this week we take some time to consider the modern church practice of thinking in terms of the "ministry year", where a congregation's programs and ministries follow the general schedule of the school year. Is this a wise or even a biblically defensible practice? What are the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach? Does ministry ever stop for the Christian or for the chur...
As Reformed Christians, salvation is at the very heart of our tradition. But how does salvation work, and how do all the concepts (e.g., election, regeneration, justification, adoption, etc.) fit together in a coherent whole? In Reformed theology, the answer has always been the framework of "union with Christ" whereby believers individually and the Church corporately are understood to be "one" with Christ. It is through this union ...
Are Christians "picking and choosing" which Old Testament laws we should keep and which ones no longer apply? In this episode Pastor Zac and Pastor Mark shed light on how believers have understood the civil, ceremonial, and moral laws of the Old Testament.
Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.
Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permission.
"Is cremation permissible for a Christian?" That's one of the more common questions a pastor will hear when facing end-of-life decisions for believers. In this episode Pastor Zac and Pastor Mark provide biblical and theological guidance for those seeking answers for this important issue.
Visit www.almondvalley.org for information about Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, CA.
Music by Jonathan Ogden used with permissio...
One of the distinctive features of the Reformed tradition is its commitment to what we call covenant theology, which is a framework of reading and understanding the Scriptures in a way that is especially attuned to the way our God relates covenantally to His people throughout the Scriptures. As this is an important aspect of the Reformed faith, in this week's episode we try to explore the ways in which this framework is found in th...
If you've been a Reformed Christian for any amount of time, odds are you've probably heard some half truths about our theological tradition. The truth is, there are a lot of caricatures and misconceptions out there. Often times, these come from outside the Reformed camp, but even sometimes from within. And sometimes, they are rooted in reality, albeit not entirely. So for this week's episode, join us as we work through what Reforme...
With the CRCNA's 2025 synod just around the corner, we take some time this week to reflect on the agenda and three of the big items on the docket: the virtual" church report, the assisted suicide report, and the overtures coming in regarding matters relating to gravamina, confessional subscription, and the Covenant of Officebearers. For a great snapshot of this year's agenda, check out the new Guide to Synod 2025 ----more----
A perennial question in the Christian life is whether we can truly trust the Bible. With all the years that have come and gone between the original writings and now, can we really be sure the Bible hasn't just been corrupted like a long game of telephone, or twisted by this or that whim of ancient scribes? And what about those few passages or verses in the Gospels that are put in brackets and have strange footnotes about how the "e...
By the Lord's grace, we've reached yet another milestone here at Reformed Podmatics: episode 200! To help us celebrate we invited back an old friend of the show, Simon Veenstra, to join in for a lively convivial conversation about what it is that continues to thrill and captivate us about the Reformed faith, and how we hope this beautiful inheritance will continue to guide our denomination in the years to come.
Visit www.almondva...
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