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PODCAST

The Blue Collar Scholar

This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.

history christianity

All Episodes

00:22:04

Sermon: Faith Is Intentional

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/14

He's a nice, short, sub-20-minutes sermon to enjoy on your Valentine's Day. I dusted off the oldest sermon notes I have, at least for any sermon that (apparently) was not recorded when I gave it in 2003. (A few older sermons are available elsewhere in the Blue Collar Scholar back catalogue, using the audio recording from that time.) So I smoothed out, edited, and updated the notes to bring you this 2026 version of this sermon I gave in college. In this message, I make the case that we have to be

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01:47:56

WWII, episode 4: Initial Nazi Victories

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/14

Blitzkrieg (German for Lightning War) is designed to move quickly, discombobulate your enemy, and achieve victory before they can properly counter attack. In the earliest stages of World War II in Europe, the Wehrmacht - exhibiting an incredible amount of speed and coordination between the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and Luftwaffe (Air Force) - achieved an unprecedented series of conquests, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France (as well as a decisive

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01:40:27

Comparing World Religions, episode 3: Christianity

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/10

This will not be the only lecture on Christianity in the Comparing World Religions class this spring. This lesson mostly focuses on Christian teachings and theology that make Christianity different from other religions.

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00:40:19

Sermon: A Brief Overview of the Book of Job

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/09

The Book of Job is a fascinating case study in human suffering. In it we see an extremely righteous man suffer, and we see his well-meaning friends misunderstand, thinking that only a wicked person would suffer so. But that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, sometime people suffer because of the good that they do, or because of the purity and excellence of their faith. In this sermon, we will draw five lessons that we learn from the Book of Job.

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01:58:13

WWII, episode 3: The Wars that Became WWII

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/09

Even though World War I was supposed to be "The War To End All Wars," there were several major and minor wars that ravaged the world between World War I and World War II. The way World War I ended caused many of these conflicts, and each and every one of these conflicts affected how, why, and who fought in World War II. This lecture will briefly touch upon the Spanish Civil War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, the Japanese occupation of Korea,

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01:45:07

Comparing World Religions, episode 2: Judaism

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/03

Our survey of world religions begins with Judaism. With a common Tanakh (Old Testament) tradition shared with Christianity, Judaism has an impact on history way beyond their numbers. This episode - and each Comparing World Religions lecture to follow - is intended to increase understanding for those who may not belong to that religion. If any listener would like to critique my take on Judaism, or any religion to follow, I welcome your feedback. I, too, would like to grow in knowledge,

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00:38:50

Sermon - The Heaven Series: Ambassadors of the...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/01

This is the conclusion to the Heaven series. Since we learned about Heaven in the previous three sermons, we now examine what it looks like to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven, for Christians are called to be ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20.

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01:50:13

WWII, episode 2: After WWI

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/30

This episode jumps right into the the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference & the Versailles Treaty. We take a quick survey through the technological and cultural advances and trends in the 1920s and 1930s. This episode also covers the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. At this point, we discuss the "Okies" who became migrants from one part of the nation (Oklahoma Panhandle and the surrounding region) to another part of the nation (California). While referencing the Grapes of Wrath, we

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01:43:11

Comparing World Religions, episode 1: What Is Religion?

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/26

This Spring, I will be teaching a World War II class and a Comparing World Religions class for the Lifetime Learning program at Neosho County Community College. The first lecture in the WWII class dropped a few days ago. This is the first lecture in the Comparing World Religions, as we explore how different religions answer ten questions very differently.

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00:29:35

Sermon - The Heaven Series, part 3: New Heavens and...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/25

The Heaven Series now focuses on the last few chapters of Revelation and asks important questions about what the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, called "New Heavens and New Earth," will be like.

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01:49:12

WWII, episode 1: World War I

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/24

The Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning classes kick off with our World War II class. This episode analyzes World War I with special emphasis on how the Great War influenced World War II.

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01:51:34

WWII, episode zero: The Leadup to The Great War (WWI)

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/22

NOTE: This is a re-broadcast of an episode from August 28, 2025. ... This lecture was intended to be a World War I lecture, but the lion's share of the lecture ended up being all the relevant history leading up to the "Great War." So, for our Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning "World War II" class, this will function as the background to Episode 1, which will be released as soon as it is edited.

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00:32:12

Sermon - The Heaven Series, part 2: Heaven

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/18

The Heaven series continues into the next logical topic: Heaven itself. In this sermon we will explore what the Scriptures say that Heaven is and what it is like, and we will try to shed a few common misconceptions that culture and entertainment have given us about Heaven.

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00:30:19

Sermon - The Heaven Series, part 1: Death

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/11

This begins a new 4-part series on Heaven. And, unfortunately, the logical place to start this series is on a downer: death. But the Bible has a lot of interesting and specific things to say about the topic of death. So join with us as we explore the macabre topic as we prepare to launch into the much more joyful topic of Heaven.

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00:41:45

Sermon: The Farewell Sermon of Joshua (Joshua 24:14-26)

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/04

Happy New Year! As we bid farewell to 2025, let us take a look back in the Old Testament to a time when a great leader said farewell to his era and ushered in the age of the judges. Joshua was a transitional figure. He took over for Moses, for all intents and purposes the founder of Judaism. He seems to be the last person to lead all of Israel (and not just this or that part of Israel) until King Saul, or perhaps Samuel. Joshua's final sermon shows that he feared that the Israelites might slip into

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00:30:43

Sermon: In the Fullness of Time (Galatians 4:1-7)

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2025/12/24

Merry Christmas!!! You probably haven't heard a Christmas sermon from Galatians before. But in Galatians 4, the Apostle Paul -- who almost never talks about specific moments in Jesus' life -- talks about our adoption as heirs with Christ, and he anchors that teaching in Jesus who was "born of a woman." (Galatians 4:4) And so, I hope you join us as we dig into the Word and learn that (1) without Christ, you remain a child or a mere servant, (2) but Jesus came -- at just the right time -- to bring you

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00:30:46

Sermon - The Church, part 7: Casting a Vision for a...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2025/12/13

This sermon was originally given as an "In View of a Call" sermon at First Baptist Church of Goodman (MO) in December 2011. It was not, to the best of my knowledge, recorded. So I adapted the sermon notes, arranging the content around a generic and nonspecific local church, and using this as the conclusion to "The Church" sermon series.

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00:33:42

Sermon - The Church, part 6: The Rituals of the Church

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2025/12/07

While there are many informal rituals in a church - how many songs one sings before and after the sermon, for instance - and while many churches (such as our Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters) have many rituals, the New Testament only seems to give us two: baptism & the Lord's Supper (i.e., Communion, or the Eucharist). So in this sermon we examine these two rituals of the church.

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00:39:35

Sermon - The Church, part 5: The Organization &...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2025/11/30

The New Testament uses the term "church" to refer to the global church - or, all who serve Jesus and are saved by His sacrifice - as well as the local church. In this episode we explore some of what the New Testament tells us about how to organize a local church.

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00:36:08

Sermon - The Church, part 4: Giving Thanks

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2025/11/24

Happy Thanksgiving! This episode looks at the life of the Apostle Paul and all the hardships he faced. And yet he directs us to give thanks in all circumstances. For he knew what it was like to face situations that make gratitude difficult, and yet he preached joy and thanksgiving. In the conclusion of this message, we analyze what it looks like for a church to be known for gratitude and cheerfulness ... and why many churches are absolutely not known for joy and thanksgiving.

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