Prepared to Answer

Prepared to Answer Prepared to Answer is a ministry committed to helping you to think like Jesus to live like Jesus.

Do you feel like there’s no joy in your Christian walk? To you, maybe Christianity feels like just another religion that...
06/23/2026

Do you feel like there’s no joy in your Christian walk? To you, maybe Christianity feels like just another religion that came along with burdensome rules to follow, and joining another denomination or religion might fix this feeling.

In this podcast episode, Shawn sits down with Tim Hawman, the lead pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church, to talk about what Jesus thought about religion and why Christianity isn’t just another list of religious rules to follow. They discuss why it’s only through pursuing a relationship with Jesus that you can experience the real and lasting joy of Christian living.

Check out the episode here: https://youtu.be/ciC1W6V_SVA

Part 6 of our Trinity series ✨ Each person in the Trinity is “Lord” and “God”The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that th...
06/22/2026

Part 6 of our Trinity series ✨ Each person in the Trinity is “Lord” and “God”

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is ONE God who eternally exists as THREE persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Bible supports this by consistently identifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as “God” and “Lord”.

Throughout the Bible, “God” and “Lord” are used interchangeably:

“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Luke 4:8)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37b)

And since the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God, the Bible identifies each of them as both “God” and “Lord”.

The Father is identified as God and Lord…

By Jesus: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” (from Matt. 11:25)

And by Paul: “ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live;” (1 Cor. 8:6a)

The Son is identified as God and Lord…

By Paul: “there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” (1 Cor. 8:6b)

Or when Paul points to the day of Jesus’ return where we will all witness “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13b)

The Spirit is identified as God and Lord…

By Peter when rebuking Ananias: “Ananias,… you have lied to the Holy Spirit... You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (from Acts 5:3-4)

And by Paul when speaking of the Spirit’s transforming power: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we…are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (from 2 Cor. 3:17-18)

The Bible is clear that there is only ONE God, and yet clearly identifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with the interchangeable titles “God” and “Lord”.

That’s the Trinity. ONE God in THREE Persons.

Part 5 of our Trinity series ✨ Does the doctrine of the Trinity threaten God’s holiness?The doctrine of the Trinity teac...
06/19/2026

Part 5 of our Trinity series ✨ Does the doctrine of the Trinity threaten God’s holiness?

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is ONE God who eternally exists as THREE persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Critics of the Trinity say this threatens the holiness of the one true God who reveals himself in the Old Testament. But the Old Testament’s stress upon the oneness of God is what supplies the most compelling proof for the Trinity!

Right from the start, Moses told Israel: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deut. 6:4)

Which is why God’s first command was: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

And that makes sense since, as God says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5a)

So, since Israel’s God is the one true God, and there aren’t any other gods but him, it only makes sense that God alone deserves to be worshipped. Which is why God says: “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

But then in the New Testament, Jesus appears as the Son of God. And now, Jesus the Son becomes the object of God’s glory and worship.

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1b)

“Thomas said to [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28)

It was their firm belief in the ONENESS of God that had the disciples scratching their heads when it came to Jesus. Only God deserves glory and praise, yet here was Jesus, being glorified by the Father and deserving their praise.

How could Jesus receive glory and deserve worship if there is only ONE God?

Only if Jesus the Son was truly God himself. Which is why John could write: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” John 1:1, 14.

Part 4 of our Trinity series ✨ Are “Father”, “Son”, and “Spirit” distinct persons?Another claim made against the doctrin...
06/18/2026

Part 4 of our Trinity series ✨ Are “Father”, “Son”, and “Spirit” distinct persons?

Another claim made against the doctrine of the Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aren’t distinct persons, but just names for the different ways God relates to us.

However, the identities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aren’t born out of God’s relationship to us. They are born out of their relationship to each other.

Over and over Jesus the Son calls God his “Father”, and Paul and Peter say that the Father is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3).

The Father identifies Jesus as his beloved Son, (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) and Paul calls Jesus “God’s own Son”. (Romans 8:32; Galatians 4:4)

The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of God” (Matthew 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:11) and “the Spirit of [the] Son” (Galatians 4:6). But the Holy Spirit also relates to the Father and Son as someone who is sent by the Father (John 14:26) and sent by the Son. (John 15:26)

This shows that the identities of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are distinct, established in their eternal relationship with each other.

In relating to each other, therefore, they cannot be the same person. And yet, each are called God.

ONE God who exists as THREE persons. That’s the Trinity!

Part 3 of our Trinity series ✨ Was the Trinity invented?Today’s challenge is a common claim made by skeptics — that the ...
06/15/2026

Part 3 of our Trinity series ✨ Was the Trinity invented?

Today’s challenge is a common claim made by skeptics — that the Trinity was invented by later church leaders, like those at the council of Nicaea in AD 325.

But these leaders merely sought clarity to what the Scriptures already revealed.

Prior to councils like Nicaea, the Trinity was not explicitly spelled out. However, the truth of God’s triune nature was resident in the Bible and recognized by God’s people, starting with the creation account of Genesis.

“God created the heavens and earth” (Genesis 1:1) - This is God the Father, who is the source of everything. So, the Jews could declare: “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2) – Here is God the Holy Spirit exerting God’s sovereign power over creation. So Job could declare: “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4)

“And God said, “Let there be…” (Genesis 1:3ff) – Here is God the Son (the Word) declaring his creation into existence by the voice of his power. So, John could declare: “Through him [the Word] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3)

Starting with the account of creation, the earliest Christians recognized the identity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

ONE Creator God existing as THREE distinct persons. That’s the Trinity.

Part 2 of our Trinity series ✨ Is the Trinity in the Bible?Skeptics will say that the Trinity isn’t taught in the Bible ...
06/13/2026

Part 2 of our Trinity series ✨ Is the Trinity in the Bible?

Skeptics will say that the Trinity isn’t taught in the Bible — that it was made up by later church councils. However, that simply isn’t true.

Right from the start, Jesus commanded us to baptize disciples into the Trinity. He said: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

And this isn’t Jesus inventing something new. Starting in the Old Testament, God’s people are always identified as those who are called by God’s name. (Isaiah 43:1-7)

But the Bible is very clear: There is only ONE God who calls people by his name (Deuteronomy 6:4, Ezekiel 36:23). And this ONE God doesn’t share the glory of his name with anyone (Isaiah 48:11, Ezekiel 39:25).

So when Jesus instructs Christians to be called by God’s name and identifies that ONE God’s name with THREE names (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), he is affirming God’s trinitarian identity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

There is ONE God who eternally exists as THREE persons. That’s the Trinity!

Part 1 of our Trinity series ✨ What is the doctrine of the Trinity?The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is ONE...
06/11/2026

Part 1 of our Trinity series ✨ What is the doctrine of the Trinity?

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is ONE God who eternally exists as THREE persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Another way of putting it is that God is ONE in his essence or being, and THREE in his person or identity.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each co-equal in their divinity. They aren’t just a part of God, nor is one superior or inferior to the other. Each of them is equally God.

But also, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not identical. They aren’t just different roles that God plays. They are distinct persons who have each eternally existed together as God.

ONE God, not three Gods.

THREE persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are each fully God.

Our mission is to teach a new generation to think like Jesus — and part of how we accomplish that is by mobilizing like-...
06/10/2026

Our mission is to teach a new generation to think like Jesus — and part of how we accomplish that is by mobilizing like-minded ministries toward sustainable, full-time, vocational ministry that fulfills their sense of God’s call and furthers our mission. This is our PTA Go program, and God has faithfully led us to form fruitful partnerships through this initiative over the years. And, he hasn’t stopped!

In this podcast episode, Shawn and Scott are thrilled to introduce our new PTA Go team member, Dr. Dani Treweek, and her ministry, Cross Related.

We’re excited for you to hear about how God led Dani into ministry and learn about Cross Related’s unique mission to help churches recover biblical and pastoral clarity for how the gospel reshapes the relational life of the disciple. Check out the episode here: https://youtu.be/rC9gDV1YLZw

Keep an eye out on Tuesday for a super special, PTA Go podcast episode 👀
06/08/2026

Keep an eye out on Tuesday for a super special, PTA Go podcast episode 👀

06/05/2026

God made you for in-person relationship.

Watch the full discussion in our latest podcast episode, “What the Bible Says About Online vs. In-Person Church, With Tim Hawman”: https://youtu.be/VCmBVrt-i4M

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