About this season
BIBLE BACKROADS™ is a new show from Drive Thru History®, which explores the people, places, and events of the New Testament. Hosted by Dave Stotts, each series is designed as a Bible teaching tool for churches, schools, and families. The home base for the show is Dave’s Garage™, a state-of-the-art, extended reality lair where almost anything is possible. In addition to using maps, timelines, animations and artifacts in his garage, Dave goes on-location to Israel and the Mediterranean region for many of his adventures. BIBLE BACKROADS™ was created as a non-denominational resource, which focuses on Bible history, archaeology, geography, and apologetics, while encouraging viewers to dig deeper into the scriptures themselves.
Episodes (6)
1. The Ancient City of Ephesus
Aired 16 January 2024 • 9 min
It was about 52 AD when Paul left the church in Syrian Antioch for his third missionary journey. He again traveled west through places he visited earlier – Tarsus, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. According to the 18th chapter of Acts, Paul visited churches and friends throughout the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, “strengthening the disciples as he went.” Ultimately, he arrived at the coast of the Aegean Sea and the incredible city of Ephesus.
2. Paul in Ephesus
Aired 23 January 2024 • 8 min
Paul returned to Ephesus, probably in late 52 AD, and made the city his temporary home during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius. During his approximately 30 years of traveling ministry, Ephesus was one of the places where Paul stayed the longest. According to the historian Josephus, a substantial community of Jews resided in Ephesus and had been there since the 3rd century BC.
3. Paul's Letter to the Church
Aired 30 January 2024 • 10 min
The broad theme of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is building the body of Christ – the church. How do we do that? By understanding what we are called to believe and how we are called to behave.
4. One Church in Christ
Aired 6 February 2024 • 8 min
During the 1st Century, religious Jews considered themselves “clean,” because of their national heritage and their traditional rules and rituals. Religious Jews considered all non-Jews (known as Gentiles) ceremonially “unclean.” In his Letter to the Ephesians, like in some of his other letters, Paul argued that both Jews and Gentiles were unclean before God and the only thing that could cleanse both was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
5. The Body of Christ
Aired 13 February 2024 • 8 min
The Body of Christ is a common New Testament metaphor for the Christian Church. The Church is called “one body” in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, “one body in Christ” in Paul’s letter to the Romans, and “the Body of Christ” here in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
6. The Full Armor of God
Aired 20 February 2024 • 12 min
The hard truth is that the Christian life isn’t always a playground, but a battleground. Therefore, Paul uses the final chapter of Ephesians to equip us, train us, and pump us up as his soldiers. In short, chapter 6 focusses on Spiritual Warfare. What is Spiritual Warfare? It’s the heavenly conflict that Christians face here on earth.