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PODCAST

The Whole Counsel

John Snyder, host of the Behold Your God Study and an elder of Christ Church New Albany, walks us through the realities of the Christian life with an emphasis on experiential Christianity. We love books on our podcast, so we tend to find great help in old books written by church fathers, puritans, and others. John has a plethora of guests to come on the show and share different insights into the books we discuss.

religion & spirituality christianity

All Episodes

27:21

Winter of the Soul III: Why Faithful Servants Grow Weary

The Whole Counsel ·

2026/01/15

This week, Dr. John Snyder continues reflecting on spiritual weariness by returning to a lecture Charles Spurgeon delivered to ministerial students on what he called “the fainting fits” of a servant of God. Though Spurgeon addresses pastors directly, the wisdom he offers speaks to every Christian who has known seasons of exhaustion, discouragement, or the quiet temptation to lose heart.Drawing from Scripture and Spurgeon’s own hard-earned experience, we explore times when faithful servants are most

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28:31

Winter of the Soul II: Why Faithfulness Doesn’t...

The Whole Counsel ·

2026/01/08

This week on The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder continues a thoughtful discussion on seasonal depression—whether that season is influenced by winter’s effect on our mood and mental state, or by a particularly difficult chapter of life. In the previous episode, Dr. Snyder introduced this theme through a candid letter from John Newton. In this episode, he turns to pastoral wisdom from Charles Spurgeon, drawing from a series of lectures recently published in a new book from Crossway, “Encouragement for

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21:39

Winter of the Soul I: January Outside and Inside

The Whole Counsel ·

2026/01/01

We often remember John Newton for his wisdom, joy, and enduring hymns. But like every Christian, Newton knew seasons of profound sadness and spiritual coldness. We know this because he wrote candidly to his close friend John Berridge—the author of “The Means of Grace are in My Hands”—confessing that he was experiencing what he called a “January inside and outside.”In this opening episode of our new series, Winter of the Soul, Dr. John Snyder reads from and reflects on this short but deeply

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33:41

Advent Meditations III: Helping You Conquer Your Sin

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/12/25

Merry Christmas from Media Gratiae. In this special episode, Jordan and John conclude their series on meditating on the incarnation of Jesus. They explore what it means that Christ took on our flesh without sin, how the incarnation shapes our reconciliation with the Father, and much more.Of particular focus is a practical application that has been especially meaningful to Jordan: how the incarnation of Jesus equips us to wage war against and mortify our own sin. Christ is the only human to fully

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28:35

Advent Meditations II: Isaac Ambrose’s Practical...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/12/18

The incarnation is one of the most familiar doctrines in Christianity—and yet one of the most overlooked. This week, Dr. John Snyder is joined again by Jordan Thomas to slow down, look closely, and recover the awe that Scripture invites us to feel as we consider the eternal Son taking on human flesh.Last week they walked through key biblical passages on the incarnation. This week they turn to the profound reflections of Isaac Ambrose in his classic work “Looking Unto Jesus.” The book can be

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28:46

Advent Meditations I: The Mystery of the Incarnation

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/12/11

25 Meditations on the Incarnation:https://shop.mediagratiae.org/pages/advent-meditations This week, Dr. John Snyder is joined by Jordan Thomas, a familiar voice to longtime Media Gratiae listeners. Jordan contributes to the Behold Your God study series, is the author of Christ Our Treasure: Enjoying the Preeminence of Jesus in the Local Church, and has appeared on the podcast several times. In this episode, Jordan and John explore the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. To guide your

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29:07

A Word in Season: A New Devotional from Jeremy Walker

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/12/04

In this week’s episode, Dr. John Snyder welcomes pastor and author Jeremy Walker to discuss his new devotional, A Word in Season: 50 Days of Hope for Hard Times. Many of you will know Jeremy from his two Media Gratiae podcasts—From the Heart of Spurgeon and A Word in Season.In this conversation, Jeremy shares the story behind both projects, the pastoral concerns that first prompted the daily A Word in Season recordings during the uncertainties of 2020–2021, and how these brief meditations have

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103:07

Getting the Incarnation Right: Athanasius on the...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/11/27

In recognition of the upcoming 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, we are presenting a special episode from our Navigating the Classics series.Dr. John Snyder is joined by attorney and elder Steve Crampton and pastor Jamie Crampton to discuss Athanasius’s classic work On the Incarnation. Together, they trace the historical context of the writing, the theological debate that prompted it, and its influence on the Nicene Creed and the broader Christian tradition. They also walk through the

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24:27

2025 Supporter Update

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/11/20

As this year comes to a close, we want to present to you a report on what the Lord has guided Media Gratiae to accomplish over the course of 2025. This week, Dr. John Snyder highlights new Bible studies, books, and expanded translations of our material. He also discusses the relaunch of our Media Gratiae Online and our growing podcast reach. We are grateful for your prayers and support.With every podcast we want to point you to Christ and our annual update is no different. John closes this year’s

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17:38

2025 Book Recommendations

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/11/13

It’s one of our favorite episodes of the year—sharing new Christian books worth reading and giving. In this 2025 edition, Dr. John Snyder highlights an updated commentary, a missionary biography, a devotional from Jeremy Walker, and more. Perfect for Christmas gifts or planning your 2026 reading list. Find links to every book below!Every year around this time, we take a look at recent Christian book releases and share our top recommendations for reading or giving. Whether you’re building your

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23:35

Letters that Continue to Speak XI: Final Letter to...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/11/06

John Newton’s final letter to Mrs. — reminds believers that suffering is never wasted. Dr. John Snyder explores Newton’s insights on sanctification, God’s glory in affliction, and Christ’s inexhaustible compassion. In this final episode on John Newton’s Letters to Mrs. —, Dr. John Snyder explores Newton’s tender counsel to a believer walking through prolonged difficulty. Newton reminds her — and us — that though human compassion is limited, the compassion of Christ is infinite: deeper than every

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24:49

Letters that Continue to Speak X: Humility Over...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/10/30

Dr. John Snyder continues the Letters that Continue to Speak series with John Newton’s Letter 5.In this pastoral letter, Newton teaches how God uses trials to cultivate humility, Christlikeness, and dependence on Him alone. He warns that comforts can quietly divide our hearts, but through trials, Christ—the perfect Teacher—draws us back to Himself. Newton closes with four exhortations: gratitude for Christ as Teacher, attentiveness to daily lessons, obedience on the path of duty, and drawing

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19:28

Letters that Continue to Speak IX: God’s Kindness in...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/10/23

In this week’s episode of The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder continues our series on Christian letters from the past, focusing on Letter 4 to Mrs. —, written by John Newton. These letters, though centuries old, still speak powerfully into our lives today.This week’s letter reveals Newton’s pastoral heart as he guides a friend through illness and spiritual struggle. He addresses a question many believers wrestle with: Why does God allow difficulties in the life of a Christian? Newton doesn’t offer

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21:12

Letters that Continue to Speak VIII: Fighting...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/10/16

Last week, we introduced “Mrs.. —.” She is a lady whose name is lost to history, but John Newton’s “shepherding through the post,” as Dr. John Snyder phrased it in the first episode of this series, is timeless to her. Newton wrote a series of eight letters to Mrs.— and this week is the second letter. In it, John Newton helps her see the battle of the Christian life. New believers may be surprised that conviction doesn’t end after conversion, but can often feel even worse. As we draw nearer to God,

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30:07

Letters That Continue to Speak VII: Dust and Divinity

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/10/09

This week, we return to our series of Christian letters from history. Previously, we have looked at letters John Newton wrote about stages of the Christian life and a letter he wrote concerning corporate prayer. This week, we begin looking at a series of eight letters Newton wrote to a “Mrs. . —.” We do not have her name, as Newton removed most identifying information from the letters when he published them. But we do know some things about her. She lived in London and wrote to Newton early in his

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19:41

Study Preview Special: Christ Our Treasure

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/10/02

This is our final week of previewing studies Media Gratiae has produced through the years. If you have been through Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically, or Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty, you have seen Jordan Thomas. He contributed to the interview segments of those two studies.When we started producing smaller studies, we knew we wanted Jordan to make one. We approached him and asked for a topic or passage he felt was needed in today’s church. He unhesitatingly answered that a study

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34:26

Study Preview Special: The Nature and Practice of...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/09/25

We are continuing our special series highlighting studies Media Gratiae has produced through the years, and this week, we are presenting to you one of our newer studies. Published in 2024, The Nature and Practice of True-Hearted Discipleship was written and taught by Dr. Ian Hamilton.If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Hamilton, we highly encourage you to seek out his books and preaching. His style is simultaneously direct and disarming. As with our other studies, there are two components: a workbook

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48:09

Study Preview Special: The Weight of Majesty

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/09/18

We are taking a break from our series on letters from Christian history to give Teddy James and his family a short break while they care for their new addition, Jack. During this time, we are presenting to you the first session from several studies that Media Gratiae has produced over the years. This week’s special is Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty, which is a follow-up to our first study.After people went through the first Behold Your God study, they asked if we could recommend a study

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59:29

Study Preview Special: Rethinking God Biblically

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/09/11

We are celebrating an addition to the Media Gratiae family over the next few weeks. If you have listened to The Whole Counsel for a long time, you may remember Teddy James. His family is welcoming their newest addition, Jack. To give Teddy some time to focus on his home needs, we are running a series of special episodes highlighting some of the studies produced by Media Gratiae over the years.First in this series, we are highlighting the study that started Media Gratiae, Behold Your God: Rethinking

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31:27

Letters That Continue to Speak VI: Thoughts on the...

The Whole Counsel ·

2025/09/04

Public prayer, whether it is praying in a corporate setting or simply asking a blessing over a meal with friends, can cause many Christians to feel uncomfortable. It may be easy to think we are the only ones who feel awkward in the practice, but this has been a reality for much longer than we think. In this week’s letter from the past, Dr. John Snyder reads a helpful correspondence from John Newton on five principles to keep in mind when we have the opportunity to exercise social prayer. Far from

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