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“From Babel’s pride to the ark’s single door, Genesis traces a unified thread toward a promised King that converges in Christ.

Question: How do Joseph’s rejection and exaltation deepen your understanding of Christ’s first and second comings?"

A scattered tongue at Babel and a single open door on an ark don’t just make memorable scenes—they chart a path across Scripture toward a promised King. We follow that path with open Bibles and honest questions, tracking how God overturns human pride with patient promises, how signs and stories become waypoints, and how two prophetic lines—the coming man and the coming God—meet in one person.

We start with the tents of Shem and the Shekinah hint that God intends to dwell with his people. Noah’s ark stands as a living parable: one door, judgment kept at bay, and a preacher of righteousness calling anyone who will hear. From there the focus tightens to Abraham, whose name is made great not by tower-building but by trust. The promises to Abram—nation, blessing, a seed—build a scaffold for hope that stretches to every family on earth. In the laughter of Isaac’s birth we hear the echo of a greater miracle in Mary’s womb; on Moriah we see wood laid on a son’s shoulders and learn the name the mountain still bears: the Lord will provide.

Then Judah steps forward with a scepter and a clue: Shiloh is coming. Early readers knew the word as shorthand for Messiah, a signal that royal authority would stream from one tribe until the true ruler appeared. Joseph’s story brings the pattern into focus. Rejected, sold, thought dead, and then lifted to the right hand with authority, he receives a Gentile bride and offers forgiveness to the very brothers who betrayed him. His second appearance to them is not humble; it is glorious and undeniable, a scene that foreshadows how we expect Christ to return—with splendor, justice, and mercy.

Along the way we unpack why firstborn expectations keep flipping, how typology works without being forced, and why the call remains urgent: the door is open today. If you’ve ever wondered whether the Bible’s earliest chapters actually cohere, this journey shows a single thread running through Noah, Abraham, Judah, and Joseph—tied securely in Christ, the door, the Lamb, and the King. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Old Testament puzzles, and leave a review telling us which moment in Genesis lit up for you.

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"Are any of you old enough to remember when we used maps before GPS? Today, we plug in the coordinates for the Messiah and explore the Scripture."

We trace the Old Testament’s map to the Messiah, from the garden promise to the ark’s door and Rahab’s scarlet cord, showing how Scripture points to Jesus as the anointed King, Priest and Prophet. We connect prophecy and typology so the story reads as one plan of rescue.

• John 5:39 as the study’s anchor
• Protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15 and the promised seed
• Rahab’s scarlet thread as a sign of salvation
• Meaning of Messiah and the three anointed offices
• Cain and Abel as early typology of Christ
• Noah, Shem and the hint of God dwelling with His people
• The ark’s single door and the pitch as images of atonement
• Passover imagery and the better word of Christ’s blood
• Invitation to respond while the door is open

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Please keep this ministry in prayer. This program was made possible by the Plays One Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonword.org

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The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

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"Are men and women incomplete? Today, we move from Adam to Ruth, showing a marriage design, honoring difference, and Old Testament promises pointing to Jesus, reshaping daily life, faith, and reading Scripture as one redemptive story."

We move from snow stories and regional quirks to Genesis, showing how Adam’s deep sleep, design, and blame point to a larger theme: Scripture from the first pages leads to Jesus. Along the way we share why Ruth belongs in a Christmas play and invite you to a new study.

• contrasts between Northeast blizzards and Southern shutdowns
• pastoring during storms with livestream worship
• audience check in across our global footprint
• why Old Testament stories point to Christ
• Ruth and Bethlehem as markers to the Messiah
• Hebrew nuance of rib versus side in Genesis 2
• Adam’s blame shift and the cost of excuse
• marriage as design, difference as gift, patience as practice
• updates on the Adam play and creative plans
• invitation to the GPS to the Messiah study

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Please keep this ministry in prayer as we lock in some new tours and actually some exciting things on the horizon. This program was made possible by the Plays One Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonword.org

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

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"Have you ever wrestled with the line between bold faith and careful wisdom? This conversation invites you to slow down, look up, and let Scripture set the pace. Today on Plays on Word Radio."

We trace God’s glory from the shepherds’ night in Luke 2 to the Transfiguration in Matthew 17, and reflect on choosing wisdom over risk during a winter storm that halted our trip to America’s Keswick. Eyewitness faith, inner transformation, and simple worship shape how we move forward together.

• update on America’s Keswick and our planned 'CHRISTMAS JOE' presentation
• the shepherds’ encounter with the angel and heavenly host in Luke 2
• the Transfiguration and the meaning of metamorphosis in Matthew 17
• Romans 12 on inner renewal versus outward conformity
• Peter’s eyewitness account in 2 Peter 1 and its weight for faith
• discerning faith versus presumption in travel and ministry decisions
• community, worship, and songs that steady the heart
• plans to return in spring and requests for prayer support

Please be in prayer for us.

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

This program was made possible by the Plays One Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonword.org

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

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"We face unanswered prayer through sadness and loss, searching Scripture for resilient comfort — Paul’s thorn, resurrection hope, shared grief. Question: When prayers end in "no", how does God’s grace sustain faith?"

We share a hard week with our Plays On Word family: praying for baby Samuel, grieving with James and Sara, and holding to the comfort God promises when the answer is "no". Scripture, story, and prayer lead us to a hope that outlasts storms, diagnoses, and silence.

• the God of all comfort amid affliction
• storm updates and travel plans put on hold
• the story of our dear brother James Serpico
• pleading for a miracle and facing a "no"
• Paul’s thorn, weakness, and sufficient grace
• the Gospel as hope stronger than death
• Joseph and Job as patterns for endurance
• community duty to help by prayer
• a closing prayer and blessing over the grieving

To find out more, check out our Plays On Word website at: https://playsonword.org/

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

EP 120

Ep 121

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The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

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"Imagine if your name meant “God is with us!” This is the meaning of our dear Brother Emmanuel Agyemfra's name. We visited with him on our last Christmas Joe Tour. Listen in!"

We sit down with Pastor Emmanuel to trace a faith journey from a Ghanaian living room church to Korean seminaries to New Jersey congregations, and we cast a vision for bringing Plays on Word Theater to Ghana. Along the way we explore “dinner church,” bivocational ministry, and how unity in Christ thrives across many languages.

• early discipleship in a home church in Ghana
• starting a campus fellowship and owning calling
• bivocational mentors and NGO-minded service
• seminary studies and ministry posts in Korea
• transition to New Jersey churches and community care
• dinner church as practical evangelism and hospitality
• vision for a Ghana theater outreach powered by Scripture
• diversity as a gift and unity in Christ as center
• language, culture and the shared “hallelujah”
• closing prayer and pastoral blessing

Information for Emmanuel’s church, Leonia UMC, is in the show notes.

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Leonia UMC Church: https://leonia.church/

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To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

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"Today we look back on our time with our dear brother Vinnie Whitehead. His life touched multitudes of people for eternity. He is now in glory with his Lord, and we look forward to seeing him again."

A good life leaves footprints you can follow in the dark. We remember Arthur “Vinnie” Whitehead — coach, teacher, elder, and friend—and trace the quiet choices that turned classrooms, gyms, and retreats into places where faith took root. Grief is honest here, but hope has the last word. We share the first handshake that felt like a challenge and a welcome, the late-night Bible study with an open door that drew men into Scripture, and the simple ways one person’s courage can become a community’s backbone.

You’ll hear how a high school coach redirected a student from detention to Fellowship of Christian Athletes and changed the arc of a life. We revisit ministry threads that span Calvary Chapel Old Bridge, Crossfields, and local camps, and we include Vinnie’s own testimony—from a religious routine to a living walk with Jesus, through battle and breaking, to a faith rebuilt by steady, verse-by-verse teaching. It’s a picture of discipleship that grows slow and strong: prayer, Scripture, accountability, and service.

This is also a frank look at time. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, relationships need repair, and the Gospel is too good to hoard. We hold sorrow and joy together, anchored by the promise of resurrection and the conviction that a life can preach long after the voice is quiet. If you’ve ever wondered whether small acts matter, this story says yes—welcome the newcomer, open your Bible, keep the door ajar, and finish strong.

If this tribute encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can hear Vinnie’s legacy and meet the hope that carried him. Then tell us: whose faith shaped yours, and how will you pass it on? Let us know here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/podcast-reviews

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Calvary Crossfields interview #1
Calvary Crossfields interview #2

To honor Vinnie’s life and legacy, and in gratitude for the faith and values he lived out, donations in his memory may be made to a ministry close to his heart: Fellowship Of Christian Athletes - New Jersey: https://www.fcanj.org/donate

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"How can seeing Jesus as rescue, not restriction, reshape your faith this coming year? Today we kick off season four with global gratitude, gospel clarity, stories from the road, and practical discipleship, urging renewed joy and courage."

Season four launches with gratitude, a global roll call, and a clear gospel reset for the new year. We share stories from tours and church planting, celebrate salvations at the plays, and call believers to renewed power, purity, and purpose.

• how the podcast began and stayed weekly
• listener reach across 75 countries
• reading scripture in multiple languages
• 2025 interview highlights and takeaways
• church planting and touring balance
• salvations during performances and follow-up
• the cross as perfect justice and mercy
• Christ as the only way to the Father
• practical counsel for repentance and purity
• identity, resilience, and pressing forward
• upcoming plays and plans for Keswick

This program was made possible by the Plays One Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonword.org

(Please click on the underlined links below.)

Plays On Word Newsletter Sign Up: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up
Does any of today's podcast resonate with you? Let us know here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/podcast-reviews
To Support Plays On Word Radio & Plays On Word Theater, please visit: https://playsonword.networkforgood
The Plays on Word Theater team is always setting up new performance dates! If you want us to visit your church/venue/community, please reach out with your inquiries here: https://playsonword.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/event-submission-form

Plays On Word website
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Email us: team@playsonword.org

Plays On Word website
Plays On Word YouTube
Plays On Word Facebook
Plays On Word Instagram
Email us: team@playsonword.org