About

Hello all! Welcome to the official website for the Children of Light (CoL) podcast hosted by Ethan Speer and Matthew Rogers. The CoL podcast has gone through a couple rough phases and reboots, but we are back for good now.

You can find our podcast on YouTube here. The other place you can currently find our podcast is by following Ethan Speer on Facebook here.

The point of this website is to give you all articles and notes (some of our own that we use in our episodes) for spiritual growth and knowledge of God’s Word. Most of all, though, to grow in obedience to God. Having knowledge is just simply not enough. We need to be doers of the Word as James tells us:
“But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” James 1:22 (LSB).

Here’s a little bit about the two of us (hosts):

Host/Speaker/Writer for CoL: Ethan Speer

Hello everyone, my name is Ethan Speer, and I grew up in a Christian household and grew up in church. I prayed the “sinners’ prayer” when I was 7 years old but really didn’t make my faith my own until around 10th grade. That’s when I started to take my walk with God much more seriously. Once I graduated high school, I got my first job and have been with this job since (4 years in December). During that time, God opened my heart and eyes to see my spiritual gifting, and I began to serve in a teaching/preaching role in my youth group at my church, Faith Community Church. During this time, I wanted to start a podcast to push out the Word of God, and I did just that with one of my best friends, Matthew Rogers (more on him below). I am nowhere near perfect and am super grateful for Matthew and other friends in my life to hold me accountable especially with where I am at now in my life and my walk with God. Now, here we are today, and we continue to pray our podcast, and now this website will grow for God’s glory, pushing forth the Gospel to the nations.

Host/Speaker/Writer for CoL: Matthew Rogers

Hello everyone, my name is Matthew Rogers, and I also grew up in a Christian household and in church. For a while church and family devotions were just a box to check off each week and was just a part of my routine. It wasn’t until my sister and brother both confessed Jesus as Lord that I started to realize that there was more to Christianity than church and family devotions. I asked my parents to explain it more to me and around 7 years old I confessed Jesus as Lord. Since this time I have progressed in my faith year by year, growing to love going to church and reading and studying God’s Word. I have been blessed to have great friends such as Ethan and Josiah to help me grow and hold me accountable when I slip. Though preaching and teaching are not my spiritual gifts, I am excited to embark on this journey of making God’s word clear and understandable to further his kingdom and grow all who listen.

Click our menu page at the top right of this page to visit and navigate our blog pages (Theology/Doctrine), (Bible Survey and Passage Exegesis), and (Devotionals) where all our blog articles will be uploaded.

Below you can find CoL’s Statement of Faith of what we believe and what we teach. This is our overview statement to represent our website and podcasts’ beliefs and what we teach and believe as a whole.

Statement of Faith:

1. We Teach and Believe in the Total and Complete Authority Bible

We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God, the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 19:7-11; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 40:8; Proverbs 30:5-6

2. We Teach and Believe in the Trinity (the Godhead)

We believe in one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-equal and co-eternal, possessing all the attributes of deity.
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:1-2; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4

3. We Teach and Believe in God the Father

We believe God the Father is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of all things. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and perfectly holy, loving, just, and gracious.
Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 45:5-7; Psalm 103:19; Psalm 139:1-12; Leviticus 11:44-45; John 3:16; Romans 8:15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Matthew 6:9; Isaiah 64:8

4. We Teach and Believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ

His Deity and Pre-existence: We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God, co-eternal with the Father, and the second person of the Trinity.
John 1:1-2; John 8:58; Colossians 1:16-17; Philippians 2:6-7
His Incarnation: We believe that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and became fully man while remaining fully God.
Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Philippians 2:7-8
His Sinless Life: We believe that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and fulfilled all righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5
His Death and Resurrection: We believe in His substitutionary atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection on the third day, and His ascension to the right hand of the Father.
Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Luke 24:39; Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34
His Second Coming: We believe He will return in power and glory to judge the living and the dead and to establish His eternal kingdom.
Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 19:11-16; Matthew 24:30

5. We Teach and Believe in God the Holy Spirit

His Deity: We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, co-equal with the Father and the Son.
Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
His Work in Salvation: We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerates believers; and indwells, seals, and sanctifies them.
John 16:8-11; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19
His Work in Empowering Believers: We believe He empowers believers for service, gives spiritual gifts for the edification of the church, and leads them into all truth.
Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:6-8; Galatians 5:16-18; John 14:26

6. We Teach and Believe in the Nature of Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, male and female, for the purpose of glorifying God and enjoying fellowship with Him.
Genesis 1:26-27; Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11
The Fall: We believe that man fell into sin through Adam’s disobedience, resulting in spiritual death, separation from God, and the corruption of human nature.
Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; Psalm 51:5

7. We Teach and Believe in the Reality of Sin

We believe sin is rebellion against God, both inherited and practiced by all humanity, and that it results in physical and spiritual death.
Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; 1 John 3:4; Ephesians 2:1-3; Isaiah 59:2

8. We Teach and Believe in Salvation

By Grace through Faith: We believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is a free gift of God, not by works, and involves repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Titus 3:5; Acts 4:12; Acts 16:31
Justification: We believe in the justification of the sinner by faith, whereby God declares the believer righteous on the basis of Christ’s righteousness.
Romans 3:24-26; Romans 5:1; Galatians 2:16
Regeneration: We believe that those who are saved are born again by the Holy Spirit, receiving a new heart and becoming a new creation.
John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 36:26-27
Sanctification: We believe that believers are progressively sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit and the application of God’s Word.
1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 17:17

9. We Teach and Believe in the Church

The Universal Church: We believe in the one true Church, composed of all who have been born again, with Christ as its head.
Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Matthew 16:18
The Local Church: We believe that believers are to gather in local congregations for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and service, being committed to the preaching of the Word, prayer, the ordinances, and mutual edification.
Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
The Ordinances: We believe that Christ commanded the Church to observe two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, as symbols of faith and fellowship.
Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Romans 6:3-4

10. We Teach and Believe in Angels and Demons

Angels: We believe in the existence of angels as created spiritual beings, some of whom serve God and carry out His purposes.
Hebrews 1:14; Psalm 103:20; Colossians 1:16
Demons: We believe in the existence of Satan and demons, who are fallen angels opposed to God’s purposes and actively engaged in spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9; Matthew 25:41; Mark 1:34

11. We Teach and Believe in the End Times

Christ’s Return: We believe in the imminent, visible, and bodily return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Matthew 24:30-31; Revelation 19:11-16
The Resurrection: We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost—the saved to eternal life and the lost to eternal judgment.
John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58; Revelation 20:11-15
The Final Judgment: We believe that God will judge all people, and those not found in Christ will be cast into the lake of fire, while the righteous will inherit eternal life in the presence of God. Revelation 20:11-15; Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Corinthians 5:10
The New Heavens and New Earth: We believe that God will create a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells and He will dwell with His people for eternity in perfection. Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1, 3-4