The Semi-Seminarian

What happens when your plans run out before your time does?

In this vivid, poetic teaching on Luke 12:13–21, we explore the Parable of the Rich Fool — a man who built bigger barns but forgot to prepare his soul. With storytelling rooted in Scripture and layered with pastoral depth, this episode challenges us to ask: What does it mean to be rich toward God?

Whether you’re leading a Bible study, preparing a sermon, or just feeling the ...

Cain and Abel. Two altars. One silence that changed the world. This week, Pastor Jim Wilhelm walks us east of Eden—where worship turns to rivalry and mercy still hums under the soil. What happens when heaven looks away, when grace touches someone else first, and when the ground itself remembers blood?

This isn’t just a sermon. It’s a Red Dirt gospel story—gritty, scriptural, and full of grace for wanderers and weary believers alike....

What if the real work of grace happens underground?

In this week’s episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim Wilhelm takes us into one of Jesus’ most misunderstood parables—the Parable of the Weeds—where good and evil grow side by side in the same soil. With the storytelling warmth of a Red Dirt preacher and the depth of a theologian, Pastor Jim digs beneath the surface of Matthew 13 to uncover a truth that most of us miss:...

What did Jesus really mean when He talked about divorce? In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim Wilhelm walks the dusty road south of Capernaum to uncover the heart behind one of the hardest teachings in Scripture.

When the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with a legal question about marriage, He answered with compassion for the broken—not condemnation for the divorced. This sermon digs beneath the rules to the ache...

What happens when grace starts rewriting the seating chart?

In this Wednesday-night Bible study, Pastor Jim takes you inside the Pharisee’s banquet where Jesus tells a story that unfolds right before everyone’s eyes. The Parable of the Guests (Luke 14 : 7-11) isn’t just about manners—it’s about the gospel that flips the table. As guests scramble for the best seats, Jesus quietly shows what happens when humility becomes the invitatio...

After the last crumb and sip, something holy still lingers. In this World Communion Sunday sermon, Pastor Jim Wilhelm of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast walks you back through the silence that follows the table—the breath that tastes like grape and mercy. From Luke 22 (:14–20), he explores how the Disciples of Christ center worship not around preaching, but around participation—the bread and cup as the heartbeat of belonging.

This isn’t...

What if the Kingdom of God doesn’t look like fireworks, but like a weed in your backyard? In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim walks the dusty path of Galilee to explore Jesus’ parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (Matthew 13:31-33, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-21).

These stories reveal a kingdom that starts impossibly small—like a speck of seed, like a pinch of leaven—and yet grows wild enough to give shelt...

In John 11, Jesus stands before the tomb of his friend and cries out: “Lazarus, come out!” What follows is not only the most dramatic miracle before the cross—it’s the moment that forces the world to decide: is Jesus who he says he is?

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim Wilhelm walks the dusty road to Bethany. We sit with Martha in her frustration, we weep with Mary in her grief, and we hear Jesus declare: “I...

When Jesus cursed a fig tree, overturned the tables in the Temple, and told the parable of the tenants who murdered the son, He wasn’t acting at random. Each scene is prophetic theater — judgment and mercy colliding in bark, stone, and blood. In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, we walk the sawdust trail from withered roots to broken tables to the rejected cornerstone. What happens when religion has leaves but no fruit? ...

The storm won’t quit. The night is dark. The boat is straining. And still—Jesus comes walking across the chaos, declaring, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim takes us into John 6:16–24—between miracle and mystery, between feeding thousands and facing the storm. This is where discipleship lives: in the middle of the night, rowing hard against waves that will not quit, until Christ ...

When Jesus told the story of the lost sheep (Luke 15; Matthew 18), He wasn’t spinning a sweet bedtime tale. He was confronting the Pharisees, scandalizing the religious, and revealing a God who throws a party when one loser comes staggering home.

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim takes you into the sandals of the story — the grumbling Pharisees, the one wandering sheep, and the Shepherd who won’t stop until ...

The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is one of the most famous miracles in the Bible—but what if it was never really about the food? In this sermon, we explore John 6 and discover why the bread and fish on that hillside point far beyond lunch.

You’ll walk through the text verse by verse—hearing echoes of Exodus, manna in the wilderness, Passover lambs, and the living Bread from heaven. We’ll talk about the boy’s small offering, the ...

Are we missing the point of one of Jesus’ most famous parables?

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim Wilhelm takes a closer look at Luke 15 and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Most sermons focus on the younger son’s rebellion or the elder son’s bitterness—but Jesus may have had someone else in mind all along.

This Bible study walks through the passage verse by verse, exploring the cultural background, the Phari...

Step into the story where dust becomes holy ground and grace gets its hands dirty. In this episode, Pastor Jim Wilhelm brings John 9 to life with porch-front gospel, Red Dirt storytelling, and a front-row seat to the miracle of sight—where Jesus transforms questions and blame into hope and healing.Dive into the sacred tension of not knowing, the honesty of testimony, and the wild mercy that can find you in the mud. Whether you’re t...

What if the hero of Jesus’ most famous parable was the one person you swore you’d never trust? In Luke 10:25–37, the Good Samaritan isn’t a gentle Sunday school tale—it’s a scandal that shook the first listeners to their core. For them, “Samaritan” meant enemy, desecrator, traitor. Yet Jesus dared to say: that one can show you mercy.

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim walks the bloody road from Jerusalem to J...

What happens when healing breaks the rules? In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian, we step through the Sheep Gate of Jerusalem and into one of Jesus’ most controversial miracles. Against the backdrop of Shavuot—Pentecost, the feast of firstfruits and the giving of the Law—Jesus walks into the shadows of Bethesda and resurrects a forgotten man with nothing but a Word. No water. No angel. No help. Just resurrection on the wrong day.

...

Most of us were taught the Parable of the Talents as a stewardship lesson: don’t waste your gifts, work harder, multiply what God gave you—or else. But what if that’s not what Jesus was saying at all? What if we’ve been getting it wrong this whole time?

In this episode of The Semi-Seminarian Podcast, Pastor Jim unpacks Matthew 25:14–30 and shows how this familiar story turns out to be a dangerous critique of exploitation. The “wicke...

The wine ran out, the shame crept in—and Jesus turned water into wine. Discover the first miracle of Jesus at Cana and why it still matters today.

At a wedding feast in Cana, the joy collapsed. Into that silence, Mary whispered: “They have no wine.” In this episode, Pastor Jim Wilhelm walks us through John 2:1–11, unpacking history, culture, and theology to reveal how grace shows up when our jars are empty. From Mary’s whispered fai...