Devotions in the Deep End

A continuing look at the events of John's first glimpse into the Throne Room of God. We begin to see that this throne sits not so much in a palace, but a Temple...

As we come out of the seven churches, the book of Revelation becomes a tricky text to navigate, but our journey begins...NOW! In this episode, we will start to consider ideas such as 'what happens next' as well as the idea of '24 elders' and the Throne Room of God. This passage looks at just 4 verses, and I feel like we'll need to do this quite a bit in this series!I'm always up for discussion around the various ways these verses can be understood, so feel free to join the conversation in the comments wherever you can.

My second look at this particular church, but also the final episode centered on the Seven Churches of Revelation. The REALLY challenging part of Revelation is coming up next!

In this episode, we begin to explore the last church in the circuit being addressed in Revelation. This particular study considers (among other things) the idea of what being 'lukewarm' might be.

This is my exploration of the second-last church bein g addressed in this special circuit of churches.

This is the second half of my journey through the letter to Sardis. After the urgent call comes a call to be restored, not removed.

This episode begins our exploration of Jesus' letter to the church in Sardis - a church that attracts no commendation, but instead an urgent call to action.

The last short exploration of this particular church - the promises the Lord makes to a remnant who remains true.

In order to make each episode a little shorter I am creating a handful of double episodes, just while the 'seven churches' are the subject matter. The two episodes on each church will come out at the same time.This is the first look at what Jesus says to the church in Thyatira - the presence of something he calls 'Jezebel' will be particularly explored here.

This is a church in a complex setting, going through some rather complex things - there's good, and there's terrible things going on in their midst. There's a lot for us to consider in our modern church setting, much to learn from this ancient church for our time.

This is the second letter out of seven churches addressed in Revelation. It's a church with a lot going on outside of them, but no rebuke to be found within.

The next stage of our Revelation journey calls us to consider the stories of 7 key churches. For some, this can be seen as a complete picture of the whole church - either over time or in its many expressions at any current time. However, it is also of vital importance to remember that these are real churches and real disciples being addressed in their time too. Ephesus comes with the benefit of around 40 years of documented church life in the New Testament, so there is lots to explore in this particular letter.

This section introduces us to a powerful and victorious image of Jesus. In this episode Cam takes some time to explore these and what they might mean. Each part of Jesus' presentation in Chapter 1 is mentioned again in Chapters 2&3 so taking the time to understand them a little now is an important start to the Revelation series. The clear deity of Christ is also shown to us here among a number of key theological elements that we all should know, and his relationship to the suffering church is shown to us a little here too.

These are the opening statements of the book of Revelation, and already there is wonderful depth to explore!

It's the beginning of a new season with a new book of the New Testament to explore. This is an introduction to Revelation -considering the author, the setting, the time and the four major viewpoints that have helped us interpret this book over the years. My aim in this series will be to be as generous as I can to all the views while sticking to orthodoxy. I hope it's a useful journey for you!

This longer episode takes some time to consider the details of the trial of Jesus - before Pilate, before Herod - as well as some reflections on the curious case of Barabbas

This is the second of two detours from the main thread of Jesus' trial - the second case study of a disciple in crisis during this time. In this episode, we briefly examine the final steps of Judas

We take a brief pause from the trial of Jesus to consider the first of two short case studies. Peter's denial is the first of these.

In the timeline of our Synoptic Gospel journey, Jesus has been arrested and is going through the various stages of the trial process. This episode explores the initial hearing in the home of Caiphas the High Priest.

This episode continues to explore the dramatic events of Gethsemane and what takes place after the disciple's final prayer meeting together.

The Passover event crosses into a garden prayer meeting. Here we briefly look at the setting, the prayer of Jesus and the posture of the disciples. A fuller reflection on the whole process from arrest to death and resurrection is still to come, but here Cam offers a practical thought about the idea of being drawn into prayer with Christ when we're at our lowest or most challenged.

This is a fascinating passage that first looks at the bravado of the disciples contrasted with the knowledge of Jesus that Peter's denials were imminent. But it then switches gears to a teaching where some very interesting phrases are used...

This is an attempt to try to capture some of the richness of Passover and bring elements of this into the meal that has now become known as Communion. It's important to know some of the theology that existed around the first century and how Passover spoke into that - as it helps us understand how Jesus inserts himself into this thinking. But, we do this without overly Judaizing the whole thing too! As a result, this episode offers an understanding of things without overstating all the various details that others have dedicated entire volumes to over the years! Hopefully it sums things up in a helpful way for you!

This episode simple introduces the setting and logistics of the last Passover event that Jesus shares with his disciples. The idea of betrayal and some of the origin story of the Passover is presented here with a view to show in the next few episodes how Jesus puts himself into the festival in a key way - to the point that he becomes its completion

This is the third and final look at the two accounts of the broken alabaster box events in the gospel accounts. This time we return to Bethany and explore the disciples responses to this, as well as Jesus' own insight about the event an how it pertains to his redemptive work

This is the second instalment in our study of the Alabaster Box events (I made the case for two events last time). This episode considers the event which stands alone in Luke's gospel.

There are four accounts across the gospels about a woman anointing Jesus with perfume. There is some debate about them all telling of the same event, or if there were in fact two instances. I'll show my own hand on that conclusion in this episode. Then, we'll take around three episodes to explore all four accounts. There's so much to take in across them all!

This is the last part of the Olivet Discourse - and it's a tough passage to consider! The Sheep and Goats speak of the day of judgement that we'll all face, and Jesus is calling us to consider "That Day" deeply...and be ready!

This is better known as the parable of the Ten Virgins, but maidens is an equally useful description! This is part of the Olivet Discourse, and feeds further into the idea of being ready for "That Day."

This short episode appears in the Olivet Discourse so it's being briefly covered, with the acknowledgement that some of this came up in earlier episodes. One part of the teaching has not thus far, so this serves as a chance to look at that particular section.

This is the 4th instalment of the Olivet Discourse - the part where Jesus speaks specifically about the end of the age.

This is the third episode in our exploration of the Olivet Discourse. In this one, we're looking at a key phrase (which the title implies) that appears first in the book of Daniel. Jesus offers a small piece of insight into what is considered one of the hardest texts in the Old Testament to interpret, and this episode will interact with some of the history that came about after Daniel's vision, and how it can be applied through the lens of Jesus's words. I've kept this short in order to not overwhelm! I hope it helps understand a tough scriptural idea.

This is the second episode in my exploration of the Olivet Discourse. This focuses on the journey of gospel proclamation that disciples participate in, as well as the persecution that will come with it.

We are going to take a handful of episodes to explore what is known as the Olivet Discourse. This is the introductory part of that journey!

This episode explores a pretty powerful and fitting end to the way Jesus has interacted with the religious leaders around him, offering a very big exclamation mark on all that has been recently covered. I have sought to offer a balance of thought and hope you're able to see this here. Some modern writers seek to point out the face value story of a widow's faith in a way that appears to ignore the surrounding context. I do think there is value in considering the faith of this lady, and the example she becomes because of the way Jesus points her out. But doing this ends up reducing the point to the subject of far too many modern offering talks! There are others who point out the culture of hypocrisy all around her, and that context certainly matters. The leaders around her most certainly 'devoured widow's houses.' This episode gives considerable attention to this idea also. But this view can highlight the apparent victim status of the widow - she is seen as being coerced into giving in order to religiously fit in. While I agree she should be more a recipient of the temple treasury than a contributor to it, there is also a clear element of faith and pure devotion in play that cannot be ignored. So, I've kept all that in mind while making this episode, and I hope I do the passage justice!

This is the third and final instalment of the 'Seven Woes' in Matthew 23. It's a pretty telling piece of scripture to explore, but across all of the episodes in this trilogy, we are called to deep reflection about ourselves. The un-churched, non-religious world is not the target of Jesus' words here - the people of God are!

The second of three episodes which explore the 7 Woes of Matthew Chapter 23

As the title suggests, we're taking a look at the 7 Woes - this is the first of three episodes exploring this section of scripture.

Jesus is beginning to offer a very complete commentary on the way he considers the faith of the Scribes and Pharisees around him to be - and it's not a pleasant one as you might expect! In this episode, we explore the positives and negatives outlined by Jesus in these 12 verses, and we have a bit of an inventory of questions at the end which call us to consider ourselves deeply - the last thing we want to do is end up in a similar place in the commentary!

A shorter episode to get the new season started! This looks at a special piece of Bible commentary from Jesus himself, one that calls us to consider the deeper meanings of "Messiah," and one that sets a chain reaction on how Psalm 110 is interacted with throughout the whole New Testament!

A teacher of the Mosaic Law seeks out Jesus to learn what the greatest commandment is, and out of a perceived 613 options, Jesus offers two.

This episode explores an intriguing question presented to Jesus, and the masterful way he engages with it. While the initial question is a strange one, it makes way for an even greater truth to emerge for us today - one that is a key part of our faith.

In the middle of the Passion Week, Jesus finds himself being challenged by some rather random folk with questions that they think will stop him in his tracks. This episode deals with the first one - a question about tax which is a little more loaded than we might first imagine...

This is another challenging parable told by Jesus during the Passion Week. And while others have dealt with the religious leaders of the time, this one speaks to the wider audience...including of course, US!

We are still exploring a series of tougher parables that are being told during the Passion Week. The priests and elders are still in Jesus' sights at this time, but the conclusion in this episode will lead to some serious questions for our faith expression today.

With the "Passion Week" in full swing, the parables that Jesus is speaking out are becoming less subtle each time! This is the first of a handful of strongly spoken ones, with an unambiguous point to the audience at hand. But they also call us to reflect on our modern faith expression too - it's safe to say that all of us are one parabolic son or the other!

A short interaction between Jesus and the priests following the cleansing of the Temple - this is the opening discussion before a handful of parables are presented to them

This episode explores some of the symbolism behind the so called 'Cursing of the Fig Tree.' Was it a case of Jesus being 'hangry?' Or, was there something deeper going on?

This episode explores the famous story of Jesus cleansing the Jerusalem Temple

The second piece centered on Jesus' Triumphant Entry. A great passage for reflection around the Holy week, but also a natural forward movement in the narrative any time you are listening to this series.

This is the first of three shorter reflections on the event known to us as the "Triumphant Entry." This particular episode involves a short look at some key Old Testament prophecies and how these are being fulfilled through Jesus, with Matthew's attention to Zechariah 9 being the centrepiece of this section of the journey.