One Good Story Podcast

Tim and Justin talk about what they've been up to during their break and preview the upcoming season from One Good Story.  The first official episode will drop Monday, April 1st!  

As the Gospel writers center their stories around the person of Jesus, they draw special attention to the different roles he played during his life on earth.  He isn't simply the main character of this One Good Story; he is also the fulfillment of the prophets, the last necessary priest, and the one true king.  All good stories lead to this one.  

He kept the peace during Roman occupation, successfully navigating a tumultuous political landscape. He was also a great builder, of significant landmarks and cities. On the other hand, he was the architect of one of history's most infamous genocides. What does the Bible say about Herod the Great?

Despite being one of the most successful kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, he's more known for his adversarial relationship with Elijah.  But Ahab stands on his own merits, as sinister as they were.  What did that mean for Israel during his reign?

The wisest man who ever lived, and yet he couldn't get out of his own father's shadow.  But with all the glory of his riches, his temple, and his empire, could Solomon lead Israel to something greater than David?

What makes a king great...can make a king fall. 

Emerging from the shadows of King Saul's calamity, a new king rises to unite Israel.  He would become the standard for all of the rulers who followed him.  What was it about this young son of Jesse?  And who would this David become?

He was the first king of Israel.  Standing head and shoulders above his countrymen, Saul was God's anointed, the first to wear the crown.  But how far can that anointing carry him?  What kind of king would Saul be?  And what would it mean for Israel?

He was a king who commanded the greatest army in the world and its greatest economic force.  His empire is remembered among the most impressive kingdoms in world history.  But what happens when Pharoah is opposed by a prophet speaking for an enslaved people?  What does this story tell us about God and empires?

When Jesus burst onto the scene in first-century Judea, he made bold claims about the Law of Moses, the Temple, and the religious leaders who kept them.  What did this mean for the high priest of the time?  And what part would this man play in preparing the ultimate sacrifice?

When the children of Israel returned from exile in Babylon and Persia, they had to rebuild their homes, rebuild Jerusalem, and rebuild their Temple.  While men with hammers could restore buildings, who could repair the hearts of the people and reinstate the Law of God.  Only a priest with fire in his bones and a zealous heart.

A man named Micah hires a Levite to be his priest in Israel during the era of the Judges.  In those days there was no king in Israel...but what does that mean for a priest?

He served as right-hand man to both Moses and Joshua.  As High Priest, he oversaw both the conquest of Canaan and the distribution of the Promised Land to the 12 tribes of Israel.  Eleazar, son of Aaron, carried the idea of what a priest could be forward in the narrative.  But many are unfamiliar with him.  Just how important is he?

He was the first high priest of Israel.  Alongside his brother, he led a nation out of slavery.  And at God's command, he instituted the most robust collection of religious practices and procedures in ancient history.  He also nearly led the nation into utter calamity.  What are we to make of Aaron, God's chosen priest?

He was a priest of the Most High God, but he was not an Israelite.  His story is contained in a few short verses, but his name stirs echoes from its origin early in Genesis all the way to Jesus.  Who exactly was the priest Melchizedek?

The forerunner.  He made the way ready for Jesus, fulfilling prophecy while unflinchingly speaking his own.  He was the culmination of all the prophets who came before him.  What else is there to the story of John the Baptizer?

He stood in the throne room of God, witnessing the fullness of His glory.  Isaiah, the prophet of Hope, is one of the most prolific writers in all of Scripture.  What do his many prophecies tell us about his story?

The most famous of all the prophets.  The drought-inducing, fire-summoning, heavenly-chariot rider stood alone against a wicked king.  But is he the greatest prophet in Israel's history?

The last judge.  The first king-maker.  A lifelong priest.  Samuel was the only prophet to lead Israel other than Moses, guiding the nation through multiple transitions, including the appointments of their first king, and their greatest one.     **This was initially supposed to be episode 2 in this series followed by "Nathan."  However, due to a technical issue we had to release them out of order.  

His name only appears in two stories in the whole of Scripture, but he advises Israel's greatest King.  He relays one of God's most sacred covenants, and he confronts David to his face.  This is Nathan's story.

The Exodus.  The Ten Commandments.  The Books of the Law.  He bore the titles of prince, outlaw, shepherd, deliverer, lawgiver, leader, and prophet. He saw the glory of God and lived to tell about it.  Who in Israel was greater than Moses?

Tim and Justin talk about what's in store for 2023 on the One Good Story Podcast.

Each of the gospels records Jesus' arrival on this earth in different ways.  How did Matthew, Mark, and Luke connect him to a people longing for the return of Glory of the LORD, their King, and the reconciliation of Israel to her God?  And did the people receive what they were looking for?

100 years after the children of Israel return from exile, the prophet Malachi calls out the people of Judah for their lackluster commitment to their covenant relationship with Jehovah.  Laboring under the weight of their own disappointments, tension is growing between this nation and its God.  Is there any hope for restoration?

When the King of Babylon carries Jehoichin off to captivity in Babylon, it appears that the reign of David's sons has come to an end in Israel.  What will happen to God's children without a king?  And will a son of David ever sit on the throne in Jerusalem again?

After they return from exile, the children of Israel reconstruct God's temple.  But the building is a shadow of its former glory, and the presence of God seems conspicuously absent.  When will this sacred place really feel like home again?

For our 50th episode, we return to Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son with a fresh set of eyes.  Faith Bosland is the Coordinator of Content and Faith-Based Resources for Think Tank, Inc., an excellent storyteller in her own right, and a good friend of the podcast.

The Apostle John, while sitting in exile, receives a vision in which he is transported to the very throne room of God.  The sight is so strange his description is both awe-inspiring and baffling.  What does he learn while standing in this sacred space?

God leads Ezekiel in a trance to a valley where a morbid vision ensues.  Bones become skeletons, skeletons become corpses, and corpses await the breath of God in military formation.   What is the prophet to make of this strange scene?

God raises up an unlikely hero to deliver the people of Gilead.  But while God understands Jephthah, does Jephthah understand God?  What does God value more:  your word or your children?  

When Jesus ventures outside of Israel, a foreign woman comes to him, begging for his help in freeing her daughter from an evil spirit.  The interplay between the two that follows is shocking and bizarre.  Why does Jesus insult this poor woman?  And what does her strange response mean?

Two Israelites are tasked with spying on Jericho and barely make it out of the city.  The escape only occurs thanks to a lie and a prostitute.  The first hero in the conquest of Canaan sure is a strange one.

As more and more non-Jewish people begin to believe in Jesus, arguments arise about what one really needs to do to follow him.  Can you love Jesus  if you never knew Moses?  And who gets to decide these things anyway?  What's up with this strange and seemingly contradictory solution?

A gifted seer is summoned by the Moabite king to curse a foreign nation called the Israelites.  The story that follows involves an armed angel, a confused prophet, a violently heated argument with a donkey, and a really strange narrative about what it really means to be used by God.

It's one of the most iconic stories in human history.  The image of the woman beneath a tree, holding a piece of fruit and conversing with a snake is almost universally recognizable.  But if all God's creation is good, where did the snake come from?  And why does it talk?  And why doesn't the woman find any of this...weird?

Accounts of miracles in Scripture occur commonly and do not appear weird to the familiar reader.  But some supernatural interventions are stranger than others. As Jesus' disciples began to carry his message to people outside of Jerusalem, a man named Philip proclaims this good news in the desert, before mysteriously vanishing without a trace.  What happened to him?  

A horrific scene unfolds outside of Bethel.  After a man of God curses a mob of boys who insult him, two bears emerge from the woods and maul dozens of the gang.  What is happening here?  Is God really being vindictive towards a group of ornery children?

In Acts 5, the young, growing church in Jerusalem is rocked by the strange and sudden deaths of two of its members.  Why, in a story otherwise filled with miracles and spiritual transformation, are two people now falling lifeless to the ground?  And what does it mean for this new community of Jesus-followers?

Most people remember Jonah for the Big Fish that stops the prophet in his tracks and forces him back towards the call of God for his life.  So it's a bit weird that the story actually ends with the title character bitterly complaining about a shriveled plant in the desert.  What is really happening here?

Tim and Justin check-in from a longer-than-expected hiatus.  Find out what and when is next with the podcast.

A farmer sets out to plant his crops for the season, but the seed falls on various types of soil, leading to different results.

A widow relentlessly pesters an unscrupulous judge in her town until he provides her with the help she desires.

A wealthy man departs his home for a long journey, unsure of when he will return. Before taking his leave, he entrusts three of his servants with a significant amount of his riches.

In a departure from his typical tales, Jesus leads his listeners into the afterlife for a story about poverty, riches, and the assumptions we make about the people who possess them.

What does the Kingdom of Heaven look like? How does something so small and insignificant transform into something so big and meaningful?

A man finds himself hopelessly indebted to his master, and yet suddenly fully forgiven of what he owes. Will he find it within himself to show the same mercy?

When religious men grumble about the company Jesus keeps, he launches into a story about a father and his two sons: one rebellious, one dutiful; one forgiven, one full of resentment. As the father throws a lavish party, which son finds himself still a long way off?

A priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan walk down a road. In one of his most famous parables, Jesus and an expert of the law debate a pivotal question: Who is my neighbor?

The owner of an estate hires workers at different points throughout the day to tend to his vineyard. When he settles accounts at the end of the day, a question about the value of their labor arises amongst the hired hands.