The Bible was written by Eastern authors inspired by God. We read it and understand it through the lens of a Western culture, missing the imagery, humor and underlying assumptions. What are the things we might be missing? What lies underneath, the things that are felt but not spoken? How can we restore some of the Hebrew/Jewish culture that we have stripped from the Biblical text in our Western world?
In this we want to take a closer look at the teachings of Jesus. Who is my neighbor? When Jesus says the two greatest commands are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor, who exactly is my neighbor?
We always talk about this parable as a story about the sower when it is a story about the soil and the Kingdom of God. Over the years we have had large vegetable gardens and can personally testify to the value of good dirt. One time we planted jalapeño peppers in my father in-law's garden. Everything grew well in his garden but these had NO heat to them at all. Was it a bad set of plants or was it something in his dirt that affected them? Scientifically I have no proof but the following year were able to plant them in our own garden and we had hot jalapeños! Good soil can affect everything.
In this episode we look at Matthew 7 where Jesus talks about good and bad trees. What does that look like and how can we know if someone is a bad tree? And then on to John 15 where Jesus encourages to remain in him, where we will bear much fruit.
In this episode, we take a look at the ancient empires and how they compare to today. How did the prophets feel about the oppressed? What was the culture like at the time of Jesus and how is his teaching counter to the surrounding culture?
In this episode we take a look at what it looks like to be a shepherd in Israel and how this relates to hearing the voice of Jesus. Go to my blogpost The Sheep Know the Voice, to see the photos of a shepherd leading her sheep in the Judean Desert.
In this episode, Jesus evades a trap, forgives a woman and heals a blind man on the Sabbath!
In episode 3 we are digging into the 2nd chapter of Genesis and taking a look at the creation of woman. Some incorrectly view women as second to man but the text in Genesis 2 suggests otherwise. This is the first time God pronounces something isn't good, and so we have woman taken out of man to be an equal part, a help that opposes. Listen in as we dig deeper into this idea!
In this episode we want to dive in to the creation account with a fresh perspective. Humankind is created with the likeness of God in us and before we could even work or produce, God looks at all he created and says "it is very good". This is one of the most ignored stories of the Bible yet this is what is chosen as the beginning of the narrative about God and his invitation to join the story.
In this episode, we want to tackle the way we think in our western world and compare it with the thoughts and ideas of the middles east. Can the differences in thought and viewpoints give a differnet perspective on the biblical text? Will it help us to understand the imagery, humor, language and even geography of a world that is different than ours?
How does Jesus interact with his disciples? How does he teach them and stretch their understanding?
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