Best Sam Fornecker Podcasts (2025)

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Sam Fornecker: Mercy Matters 25:48

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13d ago25:48

25:48

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: . Sermon Outline Sermon Questions What is mercy, biblically? Read Psalm 73, from the perspective of Lazarus. How does this psalm illustrate a merciful heart? Where are you superabounding materi…

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Steve Wood : I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel 21:01

6d ago21:01

21:01

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Romans 1:16-17 Sermon Outline The Gospel is not outdated. The Gospel does not mirror the culture. The Gospel does not faint. Questions? Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Steve …

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Randy Forrester: Faith and Work: The Redemption of Work 20:10

20d ago20:10

20:10

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Mark 12:28-34, Col 3:23-25, Rom 12:1, 1 Pet 2:9 . Sermon Notes I. Introduction: Restoring What’s Broken Illustration: Restoring furniture — sometimes better than new. Recap of the series: Week …

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Randy Forrester :: Faith and Work: The Dirty Side of Work 22:18

27d ago22:18

22:18

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: . Sermon Notes I. The Fall and the Corruption of Work (Genesis 3) Sin enters through Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Consequences: shame, hiding from God, broken partnership. Work is cursed: Pain …

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Randy Forrester: Faith & Works :: God's Original Design 20:53

1M ago20:53

20:53

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: . Sermon Notes “How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of his life?” — Dorothy Sayers 1. God Is a Worker – And We Are Made in His Image T…

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Tim Winkler :: The Ascension 26:33

1M ago26:33

26:33

Bible Study: Acts 1:1-11

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Steve Wood :: Saturated by Christ's Love 18:57

2M ago18:57

18:57

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Questions? Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Steve Wood ( ).

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Sam Fornecker :: Contending for the Faith 28:35

2M ago28:35

28:35

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: . Sermon Outline A warning A story A pattern A mission Sermon Questions What three words does Jude use to describe the church in v.1? What do these mean? God saves us regardless of our state of…

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Randy Forrester :: John - Restored for Mission 20:52

2M ago20:52

20:52

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Sermon Notes Theme: Jesus restores us from failure not by ignoring our wounds, but by healing them — and then calling us back into mission. Introduction Comparison to military standards: Are we…

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Randy Forrester: John - Fishing, Breakfast, and the Mission of Jesus 21:23

2M ago21:23

21:23

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: . Sermon Notes Jesus gives his disciples responsibility and authority in his mission (John 20:21). John's epilogue (chapter 21) offers some important insights about participating in the mission…

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Follow Jesus Like It's 199 :: Stephen Presley on Christian Witness in the Age of Caesar 42:46

9M ago42:46

42:46

How can Christians stay embedded within our culture while pursuing virtue and rejecting vice, in personal and in public life? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Stephen Presley, author of Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church (Eerdman's, 2024), about what the modern church has to learn from Christians of the second and t…

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Jesus and the Powers, with Mike Bird 37:34

10M ago37:34

37:34

What has God to do with politics? What has the kingdom to do with the cross? And what does it mean to work for a kingdom whose origin lies beyond creation, but whose destiny lies within it? Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Mike Bird, deputy principal and lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, about insights unpack…

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"We Are Underdone Eschatologically": On Gospel Theology, with Tim Patrick 50:45

1y ago50:45

50:45

What do Christians miss when we extol the cross of Christ (three cheers!), but fail to place emphasize correspondingly the resurrection of Christ, with all its implications for our lives today? How do we turn up the volume on this critical element of the gospel message? Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Tim Patrick (Principal, Bible Colleg…

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A Praying Church, with Paul Miller 54:47

1y ago54:47

54:47

Sam Fornecker speaks with Paul Miller about his recent book, A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World (Crossway, 2023). Why does God care if I pray with other Christians? Is a prayer meeting really the best use of my time? What would God do through corporate prayer that He wouldn't do in response to private prayer—or, for…

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Five Lies of an Anti-Christian Age, with Rosaria Butterfield 58:22

1y ago58:22

58:22

Sam Fornecker speaks with Rosaria Butterfield, about her most recent book, Five Lies of an Anti-Christian Age (Crossway, 2023). What's the difference between being a Christian in 1992 and 2024? What distinguishes a post-Christian, from an anti-Christian, age? To paraphrase St Paul (Rom. 13:11–14), do we know what time it is? In this conversation, S…

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Echoes of the Incarnation: Early Christian Formation, with Alex Fogleman 55:35

1+ y ago55:35

55:35

No affirmation more roundly rebuts the modern presumption that humans are merely "brains-on-sticks" than the core Christian confession that, in Jesus, God assumed human nature. To reckon fully with this fact is to enter into "a complex set of practices oriented toward the transformation of one's being and understanding of the world," the learning o…

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Lost in the Chaos, with R.J. Snell 1:04:26

1+ y ago1:04:26

1:04:26

Sam Fornecker chats with philosopher R.J. Snell about his latest book, Lost in the Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope (Angelico, 2023). What have frenzied activists, scheming rationalists, and men in Gandalf garb got in common? Why is each symptomatic of societal despair? And what hope can the Church offer a world no longer pining for the forgiveness …

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Charismatic Christianity, with Helen Collins 50:35

1+ y ago50:35

50:35

Sam Fornecker chats with theologian Helen Collins about her recent book, Charismatic Christianity: Introducing Its Theology through the Gifts of the Spirit (Baker Academic, 2023). What is "charismatic Christianity"? What are its signal emphases, its prevailing values, its cardinal foci? How is it to be understood in relation to Pentecostalism, on t…

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Doorway to Artistry, with Esther Lightcap Meek 52:27

1+ y ago52:27

52:27

Sam Fornecker chats with philosopher Esther Lightcap Meek about her book, Doorway to Artistry: Attuning Your Philosophy to Enhance Your Creativity (Wipf & Stock, 2023). The implicit philosophical outlook of the modern world thwarts and damages our humanness, severing us from the "real." Modernity aims to master nature by arrogantly reducing things …

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Leading Christian Communities, with C. Kavin Rowe 46:50

1+ y ago46:50

46:50

Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with C. Kavin Rowe (George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Vice Dean for Faculty, Duke Divinity School). Drawing on Rowe's recent book, Leading Christian Communities (Eerdman's, 2023), this conversation focuses on how the New Testament enables the communities it shapes to envision a…

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Gospel Witness through the Ages, with David Gustafson 42:29

1+ y ago42:29

42:29

Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with David Gustafson (Chair of Mission and Evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). Drawing on insight's from David's book, Gospel Witness through the Ages (Eerdman's, 2022), this conversation focuses on how Christians can learn to fulfill our charge to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. 4:5) by learning…

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Gender as Love, with Fellipe do Vale 1:10:52

1+ y ago1:10:52

1:10:52

What is gender, how does it relate to sex, and what's love got to do with it? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Fellipe do Vale, Assistant Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Drawing on do Vale's recent book, Gender as Love: A Theological Account of Human Identity, Embodied Desire, and Our Social W…

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[From the Archives] Advent, with Abigail Hull Whitehouse 47:51

1+ y ago47:51

47:51

Happy Thanksgiving! On this episode, Sam chats with Abigail Hull Whitehouse (a fellow priest in the Diocese of the Carolinas) about the season of Advent that begins this Sunday. Sam and Abigail discuss the meaning of the Advent season, the apocalyptic theology it brings to the fore, and how listeners can "bring Advent home" through spiritual discip…

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Just Discipleship, with Michael Rhodes 49:39

1+ y ago49:39

49:39

In this episode, Sam Fornecker chats with Michael Rhodes (Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College). Dipping toes into Michael's recent book, Just Discipleship: Biblical Justice in an Unjust World (IVP Academic, 2023), this conversation considers a range of questions: What is justice? Does God care about justice—and if so, why? What does …

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Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine, with Andrew Davison 1:15:37

1+ y ago1:15:37

1:15:37

Would the discovery of "alien life" overturn the Christian faith? As we gain a clearer picture of the universe — it is estimated that there exist around 400 billion billion potentially habitable planets — it's important that Christians answer with a ready, "Of course not"! Join Sam Fornecker and Andrew Davison, Starbridge Professor of Theology and …

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Is God a Vindictive Bully? with Dr. Paul Copan 1:07:34

2y ago1:07:34

1:07:34

If God is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16), why does the Bible make Him look like a bully? Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Dr. Paul Copan (Pledger Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University) about violence in the Bible: from criminal justice to divine smiting, from cursing psalms to holy war. This conversation draws on Paul's recent boo…

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Burden or Vocation? Dani Treweek on the Meaning of Singleness 48:37

2y ago48:37

48:37

Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Dani Treweek, founding director of the Single Minded ministry and adjunct teacher at Moore Theological College, about the Christian vision of singleness. Dani's recent book on the subject—The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church (IVP Academic, 2023)—assesses the Ch…

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More than Things: Paul Louis Metzger on Personhood and Christian Ethics 1:04:40

2y ago1:04:40

1:04:40

Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Paul Louis Metzger, professor of Christian theology and theology of culture at Multnomah University and Seminary, about the role of personhood in Christian ethics. This chat focuses on Paul's remarkable book, More than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture (IVP Academic, 2023). The "reader's…

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Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? Stephen Tong on the Edwardian Reformation (1547–1553) 41:14

2y ago41:14

41:14

Season 3 kicks off with Steve Tong, History Master at Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on Steve's new book, Building the Church of England: The Book of Common Prayer and the Edwardian Reformation (Brill, 2023), this episode looks at how the English Reformers sought to give visible form to the invisible Church, through a gospel-ce…

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New Parker Society :: First Series Recap 1:03:51

2y ago1:03:51

1:03:51

Join Sam Fornecker, Alice Soulieux-Evans, and Jake Griesel, as the gang draw together many of the key themes and insights that have arisen from the seminal reformation texts studied thus far on the New Parker Society series. The New Parker Society series will return after a hiatus, and The Ridley Institute Podcast will be back, Fall 2023!…

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How to Find Yourself, with Brian Rosner 49:57

2y ago49:57

49:57

Join Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Brian Rosner (Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne) about how the gospel addresses the collective identity crisis of modern society. Exploring the real-life implications of what scholars call expressive individualism, this conversation looks at how the gospel addresses arguably the most urgent question o…

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Biblical Critical Theory, with Chris Watkin 1:09:50

2y ago1:09:50

1:09:50

"Make good men wish [Christianity] were true," wrote Blaise Pascal, "then show them that it is." Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with Chris Watkin, Associate Professor in French Studies at Monash University, about how a robust understanding of the Bible's story equips Christians to follow Pascal's advice. Introducing listeners to the riot of ideas in…

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New Parker Society :: Nicholas Ridley's Conferences with Hugh Latimer (1556) 1:10:17

2y ago1:10:17

1:10:17

In 1556, imprisoned in London's Tower, two Protestant bishops, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, encouraged one another through smuggled letters as they awaited the day of their demise. Those letters became the basis of a publication in 1556, which spurred on evangelical believers to stick to Christ, even when their life was at stake. Join Sam Forn…

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The Story of Abortion in America, with Leah Savas 1:05:46

2+ y ago1:05:46

1:05:46

Join Abigail Whitehouse and Sam Fornecker for a conversation with Leah Savas, coauthor with Marvin Olasky of The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 1652–2022 (Crossway, 2022). Synthesizing the book's key findings and implications, this conversation equips Christians to (re)integrate reflection on abortion—including its history an…

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Smuggling Jesus Back into the Church, with Andrew Fellows 51:26

2+ y ago51:26

51:26

Sam Fornecker and pastor/apologist Andrew Fellows discuss why "worldliness" is so poorly understood, and weakly challenged, in contemporary Christianity. Drawing on Fellows' recent book, Smuggling Jesus back into the Church: How the Church Became Worldly, and What to Do about It (IVP, 2022), as well as his experience in Christian leadership (includ…

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St. Augustine and a More Hopeful Politics, with Michael Lamb 1:01:16

2+ y ago1:01:16

1:01:16

Join Sam and political theorist Michael Lamb, to see how St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 A.D.) helps us to navigate the bleak and cynical political culture of our day. Key to Augustine's approach is the virtue of hope — the virtue that prevents one from veering into the ditches of presumption or despair. Michael Lamb serves as F. M. Kirby Foundatio…

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A Relationship of Trust with God, with Teresa Morgan 49:08

2+ y ago49:08

49:08

In this episode, Sam speaks with Teresa Morgan, McDonald Agape Professor in New Testament and Early Christianity at Yale Divinity School, about the role of trust in the Christian life. Drawing on insights found in Morgan's most recent monograph, 'This Rich Trust': The New Testament and the Theology of Trust (Oxford University Press, 2022), this cha…

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New Parker Society :: Hugh Latimer's Sermons on the Cards (1529) and on the Plough (1548) 49:04

2+ y ago49:04

49:04

In this latest installment of the New Parker Society, Sam is joined by Jake Griesel and Mark Earngey (Head of Church History at Moore Theological College, Sydney), to discuss selections from the preaching of the English Reformer, Hugh Latimer (c.1487–1555). To follow along with the Sermons on the Cards and the Sermon on the Plough, click here (see …

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Freedom: Christianity's Gift to the World, with D.C. Schindler 1:00:06

2+ y ago1:00:06

1:00:06

Join Sam Fornecker for a chat with D.C. Schindler, Professor of Metaphysics and Anthropology at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., about Christianity's gift to the world—the gift of freedom. Drawing on a wealth of insights in Schindler's new book, Retrieving Freedom: The Christian Appropriation of Classical Tradition (Notre Dame, 2022)…

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Testament, with Micheal O'Siadhail 1:06:03

2+ y ago1:06:03

1:06:03

In this episode, Sam is joined by Micheal O'Siadhail, Distinguished Poet in Residence at Union Theological Seminary, to reflect on themes inspired by O'Siadhail's latest collection of poetry, Testament (Baylor University Press, 2022).

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New Parker Society :: John Bradford's Godly Meditations on the Lord's Prayer 1:34:16

2+ y ago1:34:16

1:34:16

Join Sam, Alice, and Jake for a conversation about the English reformer and Marian martyr, John Bradford (1510–1555). In this episode of the New Parker Society series, the team focuses broadly on Bradford's devotional works, homing in especially Bradford's meditations on the Lord's Prayer. Read along here.…

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On Genesis and Gender: A Tale of Two Paradigms, with Dr. Abigail Favale 1:09:58

3y ago1:09:58

1:09:58

Join Sam, as he sits down with Abigail Favale, professor at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss the ideas, insights, and stories told in her recent book, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory (Ignatius, 2022). Among other things, Sam and Abigail discuss the shape of an authentically Christian femini…

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On the Gospel and the Gospels, with Professor Simon Gathercole 1:01:50

3y ago1:01:50

1:01:50

Sam speaks with Simon Gathercole, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Cambridge University, on early Christian gospel literature, the theological message uniting the gospels of the New Testament canon, and why The Da Vinci Code is probably not the ideal source for information on Jesus Christ (or, ahem, New Testament scholarship). G…

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Virtuous Persuasion, with Michael Niebauer 52:42

3y ago52:42

52:42

In this episode, Sam chats with Michael Niebauer about the theology of mission sketched in his provocative recent book, Virtuous Persuasion: A Theology of Christian Mission (Lexham Press, 2022). Drawing on lines of thought developed in Virtuous Persuasion, Sam and Mike survey current models of Christian mission, considering where each breaks down t…

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New Parker Society :: Thomas Cranmer on the Lord's Supper (1550) 1:03:42

3y ago1:03:42

1:03:42

For those desiring to understand Anglican teaching on Holy Communion, one could do worse than turn to the writings of the English reformers themselves. In this episode, Sam Fornecker and Alice Soulieux-Evans revisit the great English reformer, Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556). Having previously examined Cranmer the preacher, this episode considers Cranme…

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Agrarian Spirit, with Norman Wirzba 52:46

3y ago52:46

52:46

In this finale of the inaugural season of The Ridley Institute Podcast, Sam talks with Norman Wirzba, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School. Drawing on themes from Wirzba's forthcoming book, Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022), Sam and Norman explore how the cult…

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Uprooted, with Gracy Olmstead 48:11

3y ago48:11

48:11

Sam talks with Gracy Olmstead, author of Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind (Sentinel, 2021), about local culture, the American dream, and the challenges and possibilities of living with roots in a transient society.

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What Are Christians For?, with Jake Meador 55:53

3y ago55:53

55:53

What would happen if you put Abraham Kuyper in a microwave with Catholic social teaching? Just possibly, something like Jake Meador's most recent book, What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World (IVP, 2022). In this episode, Sam is joined by Jake, editor in chief of Mere Orthodoxy, to discuss a number of issues, ranging from pla…

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New Parker Society :: Thomas Cranmer, Homilies (1547) 1:00:30

3y ago1:00:30

1:00:30

In this latest installment of the New Parker Society — the first of two on the great English reformer and Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer — Sam is joined Jake Griesel and Steve Tong to discuss the genre of the sermon. Key to the conversation is Cranmer's role in the construction of the Book of Homilies (1547), and the theological and pasto…

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On Faith and Meaning, with Os Guinness 45:39

3y ago45:39

45:39

In this episode, Sam chats with speaker, writer, and social critic, Os Guinness. Discussing themes developed in his most recent book, The Great Quest: Invitation to an Examined Life and a Sure Path to Meaning (InterVarsity, 2022), Os and Sam explore big questions about faith, reason, and the meaning of life. In the spirit of great Christian thinker…