Podcasts about Aramaic

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2025 9:56

I remember standing in the Judean desert one hot afternoon, the kind of heat that presses down on you until your breath itself feels heavy. i remember one August in the mid of summer it reached 125 F. was very Hot and Dry with no wind. The desert has a way of stripping away illusions. In the West, you often imagine spirituality as something decorative, beautiful church buildings, air-condition, some churches i visited so freezing cold inside the church, full of inspiring worship music, or even neatly organized devotional books. But in the Middle East, faith was born in the desert. The wilderness was not decoration; it was the proving ground of trust. The barren landscape taught the early followers of God that survival itself depended on Him. The Aramaic word for today is ܢܣܝܘܢܐ (nesyona), meaning “test, trial, or proving,” from the Semitic root (ܢܣܝ) NSY, which carries the sense of being lifted up and examined to reveal what lies beneath. This word does not mean temptation in the sense of being seduced to sin, as many Western readers imagine, even the translation in the Lords prayer do not put us in temptations is a wrong english translation, the Aramaic word (nesyono) meaning "test, trial or proving" and not exactly temptation, but rather a test of character an opportunity for faith to be proven genuine. In early Syriac Christian writings, nesyona was the word used for the challenges that believers endured, not as punishment but as refinement, like gold tested in fire. Like Abraham in Genesis 22 wanted to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah the Old testement word is (nesyono), i made a compete lecture about it in Twins Biblical Academy. Scripture itself illuminates this beautifully. In Matthew 4:1, we read: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [tested] by the devil.” In Aramaic, this would have been nesyona a testing that revealed the strength of His obedience to the Father. Likewise, in James 1:2–3, we are told: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials [peirasmois in Greek, nesyone in Aramaic] of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” To an Eastern mind, trials were not interruptions of life but the very soil in which faith was meant to take root and grow. For your life today, the wisdom of nesyona speaks a liberating truth: your trials are not random punishments, nor are they meaningless disruptions. They are moments when your trust in God is being drawn out, revealed, and strengthened. Every trial that comes and every hardship will direct you to walk back into your path, like the paths of righteousness in the desert. Just as the desert pressed Israel to depend on manna and water from the Rock, your struggles press you to lean not on your own resources but on the living God. Instead of asking, “Why me?” the better question is, “What is God revealing in me through this nesyona?” The wilderness, though harsh, is where faith matures into steadfastness of trusting your creator. So when you face trials whether they are disappointments, hardships, or seasons of uncertainty remember that God is not absent. He is present in the testing, refining your heart, shaping your character, directing your path and preparing you for fruitfulness that could never grow in comfort alone. For more treasures of Aramaic words, biblical culture, and discipleship insights, visit www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com

#47 The Allegory Story (Counting The Cost—Aramaic Style)

style allegory aramaic counting the cost

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 59:27

#47 The Allegory Story (Counting The Cost—Aramaic Style)

Charlie Kirk and 9/11

god jesus christ father lord podcasts corinthians september 11th teach anchor ephesians hebrew application charlie kirk aramaic quote it new american standard bible

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 32:24 Transcription Available

Artifact Facts: Balaam Inscription

Evidence 4 Faith

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2025 16:16

For centuries, scholars debated whether Balaam—wrote about in Numbers 22–24 and elsewhere in Scripture—was a historical figure or merely a literary construct. In the 1960s, a European research team excavating an ancient site uncovered 119 plaster fragments inscribed in Aramaic, interwoven with Canaanite (a Hebrew dialect). Among the writings was a striking reference to Balaam, providing tangible evidence that aligns with the Biblical narrative. How do these fragments illuminate the historical credibility of Balaam and his story? Explore the significance of the Balaam Inscription in this episode!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DONATE: https://evidence4faith.org/give/ WEBSITE: https://evidence4faith.org/NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/hpazV5BOOKINGS: https://evidence4faith.org/bookings/CONTACT: Evidence 4 Faith, 349 Knights Ave Kewaskum WI 53040 , info@evidence4faith.orgMy goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. - Colossians 2:2-3CREDITS: Developed & Hosted by Michael Lane. Produced & Edited by Isabel Kolste. Graphics & Publication by Isabel Kolste. Additional Art, Film, & Photography Credits: Stock media “Memories” provided by mv_production / Pond5 | Logo Stinger: Unsplash.com: Leinstravelier, Logan Moreno Gutierrez, Meggyn Pomerieau, Jaredd Craig, NASA, NOASS, USGS, Sam Carter, Junior REIS, Luka Vovk, Calvin Craig, Mario La Pergola, Timothy Eberly, Priscilla Du Preez, Ismael Paramo, Tingey Injury Law Firm, Dan Cristian Pădureț, Jakob Owens | Wikimedia: Darmouth University Public Domain, Kelvinsong CC0 | Stock media “A stately Story (Stiner02)” provided by lynnepublishing / Pond5

#46 The Allegory Story (The Access Code To Entering (subjectively experiencing)The Kingdom—Becoming As A Little Child—Aramaic Style)

kingdom style entering experiencing allegory aramaic little child access code subjectively

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2025 49:31

#46 The Allegory Story (The Access Code To Entering (subjectively experiencing)The Kingdom—Becoming As A Little Child—Aramaic Style)

5.48 Nitzovim 5785

Panorama of Halacha

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2025 48:16

1) One saying Selichos alone is advised to omit the paragraphs in Aramaic. How about the Aramaic verses in uVo leTziyon?[1]2) The Oshamnu confessional prayer follows the Alef-Beis sequence but is divided into four sections. This becomes significant when it is sung over Yom Kippur. Why is it divided this way? [2]3) In Selichos for Day Three, in poem beginning אין כמדת בשר מדתך, the phraseחשוחה ועזובה כקורעת בפוך has been fixed in several ways. Which way seems most plausible?[3]4) When the Sefer Torah is taken by the Chazan, he calls out גדלו לה' אתי and the congregation respond לך ה' הגדולה etc. . Does the Chazan join in with the response?[4]5) May one teach a non-Jew to read Hebrew?[5]6) If the tenth man shows up late for Selichos, do we say Kaddish at the end?[6]7) I keep track of Shabbos & YT pledges using slips of paper with numbers, plus paper clips. Is there no issue with my preparing on Shabbos to collect dues in the week?[7]8) Feedback on taking Challoh from honey-cake:[8]9) For Erev Yom Kippur: A man who lights candles should say שהחיינו when lighting or with the [male] congregation, right after Kol Nidrei?[9][1] י"ל שאין קפידא אלא במבקשצרכיו. ומיושב בזה מה שאנו אומרים 'יקום פורקן' הראשון – ראה שוע"ר סי' רפדסי"ד. והרי נוהגים לומר "כגוונא" גם ביחיד, כולל ההוספה – הגםשכולו בלשון ארמי. וראה בארוכה שו"ת תורה לשמה סי' מט. ושם נתבארשהאריז"ל תיקן הפזמונים לסעודת שבת בלשון ארמי, כדי להכניע הקליפות.[2] ס' אהבת תורה (הורוויץ) פ' האזינו.[3] בסליחותחב"ד תשט"ו: "חשוחה ועזובה". במהדורת תשס"א: "חשובהועזובה". במהדורת אמשטרדם תצ"ט ובמהדורת גולדשמיט: "חשובהעזובה". במהדורת ווילנא תרס"ה: "חשוכה ועזובה". וזה נ"ליותר, כי "חשוכה" היא היפך האור המרומז ב"קרן הפוך" – לקוחמשמות בנות איוב (איוב מב, יד). בתרגום שם: "אזמרגדין". ובמצודות שם:"זוהר היה לה כאבן הפוך". ולפי זה "כקורעת בפוך" אינו אותו'פוך', והאחרון רומז אל ירמי' ה, ל, של אשה מסכנה שמנסה להתייפות לשוא. נוסח"חשובה עזובה" = שנחשבת עזובה. אבל "חשובה ועזובה" –ארכבי' אתרי רכשי.[4] לאמצאתי דבר זה מפורש, אבל יש לדמות ל'ברכו', שהש"ץ אומר עם הצבור או אחריהם:"ברוך ה' המבורך לעולם ועד".[5] בשו"תמתנות באדם סי' כז (מהר' יוחנן טריו"ש, שנת רצ"ה) מתיר הדבר, הובא באנצ'תלמודית ע' לשון הקודש.[6] במטה אפרים סי' תקפא סי"ז משמע שגם אם באהעשירי קרוב לסוף הסליחות ניתן לומר קדיש תתקבל. וצ"ע כי לכאורה ה'תפלה'שבסליחות [כעין תפלת י"ח] היינו י"ג מדות הרחמים. וא"כ כשהגיעלבסוף, מה שייך לומר "תתקבל צלותהון"?[7] פסקי תשובות סי' שכג אות ה.[8] בשו"ע יו"ד סי' שכה ס"א – דיןצירוף סל. י"א שגם כיסוי מפה מועיל. פשוט שצ"ל מפה אחת, דומיא דסל.כשעיסות בכלים נפרדים, חייב שהכלים יגעו זב"ז (חלקת בנימין יו"ד שםס"ק ל"ז). [9] גברים רגילים לעשות מלאכה אחר זמן ההדלקה. אםיברך 'שהחיינו' שוב ייאסר עליו לעשות שום מלאכה.

jews hebrew yt yom kippur day three aramaic shabbos kaddish sefer torah kol nidrei

A Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthew

Living Words

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2025

A Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthew St. Matthew 9:9-13 and 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 by William Klock “As Jesus was leaving that place, he saw a man called Matthew sitting in the toll booth.” I expect that Matthew was just itching to get to this part of the story as he wrote his gospel account. It's nine chapters in, roughly a third of the way. But he knew that the Gospel is about Jesus, not Matthew. Still, he was excited to tell people how he had met Jesus. Up to this point, Matthew's been telling us about walking around Galilee preaching good news and doing all the Messiah things that made the good news real and tangible to people. He's been across the Sea of Galilee where he cast a multitude of demons out of a man and now he's back and on his way home to Capernaum. And that's how he meets Matthew. Matthew's a tax- or a toll-collector and here he is, sitting in his tollbooth next to the road. I suppose there must have been some kind of gate. Matthew would get up from his stool, go out to the road, and collect the toll from everyone going from Point A to Point B and from Point B to Point A. And everyone who went by grudgingly handed over their money. And they grumbled. And probably not a few people had some choice words for Matthew. Because everybody hated tax collectors. I was racking my brain this week trying to think of an example from our world that would explain just how much people hated tax-collectors and why and it's hard to think of a modern equivalent. That was a different world. No one likes a tax-collector, because no one likes paying taxes. But in First Century Judaea there was way more to it than just people not liking paying taxes. The local Roman government decided how much they would need to run things and then they'd farm the collection of taxes out to the highest bidder. And, of course, the tax collectors had to make a living themselves, so they'd pad their collection. But they weren't just getting by. Tax collectors were notorious for using their position to enrich themselves. And the local council or governor didn't care just so long as they got their cut of the revenue. It was bad enough and common enough that when the rabbis wrote about tax collectors, they typically lumped them together with thieves. And it only made it worse when the tax collectors were working for the Romans. We don't know if Matthew was working directly for the Romans or for some local Galilean authority, but at the end of the day it didn't really matter. At some level the Romans were in charge of it all and tax collectors were thieves doing their dirty work. But there's more to it than that. We think of Matthew, padding his toll collecting and getting rich by stealing from people whom he's got over a barrel and we think he's a pretty rotten guy. That's an awful thing to do. That's a scummy way to make your money. But for the Jews there was another layer, something deeper to what made it so horrible, what made them hate someone like Matthew so much. Let me try to explain. So, if you or I hear about a thief—or maybe a crooked tax collector skimming off the top—we just think, “That's a bad person”. If we found out that this thief had been baptised and grew up going to church and Sunday school, we'd think something like, “I guess he forgot everything he was taught as a kid.” Maybe if it came out he was an active warden or elder or deacon in his church, then we might start to think about what he'd done as a betrayal not just of his faith, but of us all. Here's a guy who professed faith in Jesus, but betrayed that faith by doing something really sinful. And maybe that gets us closer to how Matthew's fellow Jews would have thought about him. Because Matthew was circumcised. Matthew was part of the covenant community. Matthew was marked out as one of the Lord's people. And Matthew knew their story. Matthew knew all about the Lord and how he had delivered his ancestors from Egypt. Matthew knew all the great things the Lord had done in the centuries that followed. We can kind of excuse some people today. We all know people who were baptised, but they were never really taught the faith, their parents never really took them to church, now they're grown up and say they're an atheist, and the sinful lifestyle they live kind of makes sense in light of all that. But that wasn't Matthew. That wasn't anyone in Israel. Everyone knew what it meant to be God's people. There were no atheists. They all knew that God hates sin. They knew what it meant to be the people who lived with God in their midst. They knew that you had not only to be holy to enter God's temple, but that you also had to be pure. That's what set them apart from the pagans. Matthew knew all of this. Even if he he'd had rotten parenting, everything and everyone around him would have reinforced all of this. And he rejected it. Maybe he chose this life on his own. Maybe he inherited the job from his father who inherited it from his father. That probably would have made it easier. But whatever the case Matthew chose to live a life in apposition to everything his family, his people, and his nation stood for and he chose to do it right in the midst of them. Imagine an Amish boy who decides he doesn't want to be Amish anymore. Usually they leave and go to live in the outside world, but imagine this Amish kid decided to stay in his close-knit Amish town, but he struts around in fancy clothes, whips around town in his Porsche, and throws wild parties with loud music at his house on the weekends. And everyone would be horrified at him. That's Matthew, a tax-collector in Israel. But it gets worse. Or at least I think it does. Not everyone would agree with me on this part. Mark and Luke, in their Gospels, refer to Matthew by the name of “Levi”. Christian tradition has mostly understood Matthew and Levi to be the same person, but to make this connection is not without its difficulties. One of those difficulties is that it was pretty rare for a Jewish person to have two Aramaic names. A Jewish name and Greek name? Like Saul of Tarsus who is also known as Paul: that's common. But usually if someone with an Aramaic name has a second Aramaic name, it's because their given name is common, like John or Judas or Joshua, and the second name—maybe the name of his father—distinguishes him from other guys with the same name. But neither Matthew nor Levi were common names. No one was likely to confuse this Matthew with another Matthew. But the one instance in which we see men with two Aramaic names is when they come from prominent families. It wasn't uncommon for these men to be known by their family names. And I think that's what has happened with Matthew. Mark and Luke remember him as “Levi”—his family name—but Matthew went by his given name. Because the family name Levi mean that they were a Levitical family. And this made things all the worse for Matthew. The tribe of Levi were the priestly family. They were the ones who served in the temple. They were the ones who acted as mediators between the Lord and his people. Israel was a holy people, but the Levites were a holy tribe within that holy people. Consider that one of the duties of the Levites was the collection of taxes. They collected the tithes of Israel. Those tithes were their livelihood. And they collected the temple tax, to pay for the upkeep of the Lord's house. But Matthew had become a tax collector of another kind, not one dependent on the Lord and the faithfulness of his people, but a man who fleeced God's people in collusion with the pagans. Brothers and Sisters, that was Matthew sitting in his toll-booth. A wealthy traitor not only to the Lord, but to his people and to his family and to his calling and despised by everyone. I fully expect there were days when Matthew longed to get out of the mess he was in. In theory he could have made everything right and returned to the Lord, but to do that he'd have had to make restitution. I don't think Matthew would have even known where to begin. And so he stayed in his toll-booth, he kept his riches, and he threw parties for other tax collectors and sinners—because they were the only people who would associate with him. And every day he became a little bit more dead inside. And then, this day, along came Jesus. Matthew knew perfectly well who Jesus was. Everyone in Galilee was talking about Jesus. If nothing else, Matthew would have heard about his miracles, but I expect he'd heard about his preaching, too. Maybe Matthew had even stood at a distance a time or two in Capernaum to hear Jesus preach. Matthew knew that in Jesus the God of Israel was doing something. But Matthew stayed at a distance. Because Matthew knew he was a traitor to his God and to his people and to his covenant. As attractive as Jesus and his message were, it was not for someone like Matthew. Brothers and Sisters, how many people around us feel just like that? They're sinners. They feel the weight of it and would love for it to be gone. They've got some vague knowledge of Jesus. But they'd never come to church. A coworker once said to me, “Church is for holy people, not for people like me.” They see no way out. And now Matthew sees Jesus approaching his gate. Maybe he thought, “This might be the Messiah. I should really cut him a break instead of ripping him off like I do everyone else.” And that's when, he writes in verse 9, Jesus “said to him, ‘Follow me.'” And he just says, “And he rose up and follow him.” I have to think there was at least a little bit more to it than that. But those words, “Follow me” were ultimately what did it for Matthew. No Pharisee, no scribe, no lawyer had ever come to Matthew and said, “Follow me, Brother. Let me help you get out of your sins.” They paid his extortionate toll, dropping their coin in the toll-box and being extra careful not to touch it or anything else that Matthew had touched. They sneered at him—if they looked at him at all—called him “traitor”, and went on their way. But this Jesus, this man in whom the God his fathers was so clearly at work doing something new, Jesus smiled and invited him to join in what he was doing. Brothers and Sisters, sometimes that's all it takes. Matthew had seen God's glory on display in Jesus, but he didn't think it was for him. He just needed to hear that, yes, in fact it was for him—for everyone, but especially for people like him. That was actually part of the new thing Jesus was doing. Without Jesus, reconciliation with is people was hopeless. He was a toll-collector. How could he ever make things right with everyone he'd ever stolen from? How could he even make a good faith effort? But in those words, “Follow me,” Jesus offered Matthew forgiveness. Jesus bypassed the temple, because he is the new temple himself; he bypassed the priests, because he is our new priest; and he bypassed the sacrifices and the law of restitution, because he is the full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of Israel and the whole world. Jesus simply held out forgiveness and reconciliation to Matthew. All Matthew had to do was leave his tollbooth behind—that's repentance—and follow Jesus. And, Matthew says, that's just what he did. “He rose up and followed him.” He “rose up”. I think Matthew chose that language deliberately. It's resurrection language. When he decided to trust Jesus—and that's just what it was: trust and loyalty and allegiance—he was raised up out of his sin, he was raised up out of his alienation from God and from his people, and he was given his life back. And not just given back his old life, Jesus gave him something even better. He lifted Matthew up out of the life this evil age of sin and death and gave him a taste and a promise of the age to come, of new creation, of the Holy Spirit, and of the fellowship with God that his people had been so longing for. And, too, Jesus restores to Matthew his birthright as a Levite. As the Levites mediated the Lord to his people, so Matthew now brings the good news about Jesus to his people. In verse 10 he immediately takes us to his house. “When he was at home,” he writes, “sitting down to a meal, there were lots of tax-collectors and sinners there who had come to have dinner with Jesus and his disciples.” Other tax collectors and sinners were the only people who hang around with Matthew. Matthew knew that some of them felt the same way he did. They were traitors to the Lord and traitors to his people. They were hopelessly lost sheep. There was no way out. But Matthew had found it—or, rather, the way out had found him. And so he invites his friends to meet Jesus. They'd heard and seen him doing amazing things. Like Matthew, they'd been on the fringe. If the priest and Levites—not to mention everyone else in Israel—condemned them and kept apart from them, the Messiah certainly wasn't for them. But here he was and Jesus was saying the same thing to them that he'd said to Matthew: “Follow me.” And, I expect, at least some of them did. And Jesus and the disciples rejoiced with those people because they knew that heaven itself was rejoicing too. But there were always the Pharisees. Matthew writes that when they “saw it, they said to Jesus' disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?' But Jesus heard them. ‘It isn't the healthy who need a doctor,' he said, ‘it's the sick. Go and learn what this saying means: “It's mercy I want, not sacrifice.” I haven't come to call upright people, but sinners.'” Like Paul says in our Epistle today, there was a veil over their eyes. The Pharisees were sick in their own ways, and Jesus exposed their sickness by going to the tax-collectors and sinners. When they complain about it, he quotes the words the Lord had spoken to Isaiah. We heard those words last week when our Gospel was the parable of the good Samaritan—Hosea 6 turned into a story. The problem was that the people lacked the heart of God. The sinners devoted to their sinning, the greedy tax-collectors ripping everyone off, and the Pharisees too—almost everyone in Israel—was far from God. His absence from the temple all those years was a metaphor for Israel's problem. Even those who were devoted to the law and who were “religious” about their tithing and their sabbaths and their diet and their sacrifices, were no closer to God than the prostitute or the tax-collector. And so Jesus came to the sinners with God's mercy—because they so desperately needed it—and he gave it to them in front of the watching scribes and Pharisees and all the “upright” people in Israel so that they could see that they needed to learn that same mercy and know it themselves. It was that mercy that reached Matthew. It was that mercy that reached Paul and lifted the veil from his eyes. And it was that mercy, made manifest in Jesus, that both Paul and Matthew proclaimed. It was this mercy that's at the centre of the Gospel that Matthew wrote to his people. And it's this same mercy that Paul preached. In today's Epistle from 2 Corinthians 4, he writes that it's this mercy that drives him forward despite all the obstacles. “The ‘god' of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they won't see the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah, who is God's image.” So what's the solution? Paul writes, “We don't proclaim ourselves, you see, but Jesus the Messiah as Lord…because the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts, to produce the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Messiah.” Brothers and Sisters, Paul—and Matthew, for that matter—knew that it wouldn't be gimmicks or tricks or fancy speaking or trying to make God's word palatable to sinners that would lift the veil from the eyes of unbelievers. It would be the proclamation of the good news about Jesus. That light—the glory of God in the face of the Messiah as Paul describes it—that light met Matthew in the darkness of his tollbooth. That light met Paul on the road to Damascus. And it lifted the veil. It dispelled the darkness. It cast out the ‘god' of this world who enslaves us to sin and death and makes us to think there's no hope of escape. The light of the glory of God revealed in the good news of Jesus the Messiah is the answer and the only answer. It's our hope and our only hope. We too often try those other things. We water down God's word to try to make it less offensives. We try gimmicks or we try programmes. But Brothers and Sisters, we should know better. The Lord has promised that one day the knowledge of his glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and that will happen because and only because his people have been faithful to proclaim his glory revealed in Jesus the Messiah who died and rose again. Brothers and Sisters, don't be afraid. Don't question whether it'll work or not. If the light of the gospel could tear down the veil that once had you blinded, if it could break the chains of sin that once bound you, it will tear down the veils that blind and it will break the chains that bind the rest of the world. Just proclaim it. Jesus has died and Jesus has risen, not just for you or for me or for holy people, but for sinners—for everyone. He holds out his hand to us wherever we are and invites us to leave it all behind, to follow him, and to rise to new life. Let's pray: O almighty God, whose beloved Son called Matthew from his tollbooth to be an apostle and evangelist: Set us free from the chains of our sins to follow and to proclaim your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sermon - 9/21/25

Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2025 22:50

Year C – 15th Sunday after Pentecost; Lectionary 25 – September 21, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 16:1-13 Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who, together, offer liberation through reorientation. Amen. *** Jesus says… we cannot serve both God and wealth. …and yet, it is as true today as it was then… that both God and wealth, or Mammon, demand to be our top priority. These words from Jesus are convicting… we cannot serve both God and wealth… they are convicting… because we know in our heart… they are true. …and Jesus… well… he tends to be right. That's why we're here, yes? I actually prefer the old translation… instead of wealth, the original Greek uses the Aramaic word, Mammon. Mammon is a personification for the acquisition of wealth… something Martin Luther called in the Large Catechism, the “most common god on earth.” So, it isn't so much wealth or money alone… that demands our dedication… Jesus doesn't criticize wealthy people just for being wealthy… and money is a tool we all must use. But it's the pursuit of money for the sake of getting richer that Jesus condemns… it's the drive to store up more and more at the expense of others, the persistent need to acquire more and more that takes over our lives. To build bigger barns while others are starving… and then to rationalize our greed and overabundance… this is the Mammon that Jesus warns us against. To worship Mammon is to prioritize the accumulation of wealth… while disregarding the suffering and needs of others. Mammon demands that we look only to our own wants and desires, acquiring only for ourselves alone. Mammon is… isolating. God… on the other hand… demands that we put God above all else, and then look to our neighbor… God invites us to look through the lens of God's love… and look to the needs of our neighbor first… so that we may flourish together… through relationship and in community. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. So… to illustrate this point… Jesus offers a rather strange parable. And all the authors I've read seem to agree that this one is just weird and challenging. It helps, I think, to dig into the context… and recall the economics of Roman-occupied Galilee in the first century. Remember… that the Roman Empire exploited the people's resources and labor through crippling taxation, which was often more than the average peasant could pay. And the rich landlords and rulers were basically loan sharks who got richer by exploiting peasants… offering loans to pay their taxes, but with exorbitant interest rates, something that was in direct violation of biblical covenantal law. So, when the peasants couldn't pay back the loans, the rich would take ownership of their farm, disinheriting the peasant farmers of their family land… But they would “graciously” allow the peasants to stay on as tenant farmers… who now had to pay both taxes to the Roman government AND a high percentage of their yield to the rich new landowner. So… the rich got richer… and the poor got poorer. It was… an unjust system. Furthermore, the rich tended to live in the south, around Judea… while the peasant farmers lived in the north, around Galilee. The rich landowners wouldn't go back and forth themselves… that could be dangerous, so they utilized middle managers to collect their spoils. These managers would also add to the debt that the farmers owed, because that's how they got paid… and the more they added, the more money they made for themselves. It was the manager's prerogative to squeeze these poor farmers out of as much of their crops… as much of their wheat, wine, and olive oil as possible. The farmers were, after all, expendable… all that mattered was gaining more wealth. Mammon. And so now here we are… Jesus' teaching… his words for us today continue on from the gospel from last week. Last week's scene opened with the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, grumbling because this man, Jesus, welcomes sinners and eats with them. Jesus put people over and above social order and expectations. So, he tells the grumbling Pharisees these parables… There was a lost sheep… there was a lost coin… there was a lost son. And then comes our text for today… “There was a rich man who had a manager…” “There was a rich man… who had a manager.” Does it ring a little differently now? This manager is about to get fired for squandering his boss' property… he's in trouble for not delivering as much as the rich man thought he should have. He's about to be tossed out on his butt with nothing… so what does he do? What does he do? Once the hold of Mammon is broken… he has clarity! He realizes… that what he needs in his life are people. Mammon… the pursuit of wealth… drives people away. But for true flourishing… we need community. Money isn't the ultimate measure of things… not in God's economy! Our neighbor… our relationships and our community… this is where true riches are found. But… this guy… this middle-manager… he's still locked in an unjust system… he's still trapped by it, just as much as the poor farmers are still trapped… but he realizes… he realizes that generosity is the best investment. He uses that ill-gotten wealth, gained from exploiting others, to ease the debt burden on his neighbors, and gain social capital in the process. It's very possible that the amounts he reduced each person's debt by was the amount of his portion, and the interest that was added onto it. Because… after all, the rich man is ultimately impressed. His manager chose to forego wealth… for the riches of relationships. He used the last remaining shreds of power he had to disrupt the unjust system… and revive the community by reviving biblical, covenantal economic life. He revives the community and gives them hope… by reorienting himself back to God's command to love God above everything else… and to love our neighbor. He is liberated from Mammon… set free from the addictive nature of chasing after wealth and hoarding resources at the expense of his neighbors' well-being. And he is transformed… restored into community when he realizes that people matter so much more than money. Because in God's economy… your neighbor's needs are bound up with your own. (x 2) Our own true flourishing and riches can only be achieved by working for the well-being of others. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. And that's that. Jesus leaves some loose ends in this parable… there's no epilogue… no discourse where Jesus fully explains its meaning to his disciples, who never seem to understand anyway. We are simply left with the wondering… left with the open question of “how much more…” If even this dishonest manager can realize that relationships and people are more important than chasing after money… then… how much more… should the children of light realize that “true riches” have to do with relationships rather than wealth or possessions. How much more? You see… Jesus never says that having money is bad… or criticizes wealthy people for being wealthy. What matters for Jesus… is what you do with that wealth. What Jesus says… is that when we reorient ourselves back to God and God's commandments… when we love God above all else, and love our neighbor as ourselves… Then it changes our relationships. Our relationships with our neighbors are transformed when we realize that we are all connected… and every person is valuable to the community, and that every person is loved by God. And… reorienting ourselves back to God… changes our relationship with money. Rather than allowing money to become an idol… we understand that money is a tool, and we can use it to help others, so that together, we are blessed. Here's a beautiful example… in my old church, the men's group met monthly on a Saturday to make homemade bread and have breakfast together. …No agenda, other than spending time together and making delicious bread. Then they'd offer that fresh, homemade bread to the congregation and collect a free-will offering… and… I know they always held back a few loaves for the single mom who was getting by on pennies. Finally, they used the money they raised to fund microloans through a non-profit program called Kiva, which offers very low—or no-interest loans for entrepreneurs in underserved communities worldwide. As the loans were paid back, which they always were, the men reinvested the funds in other people, giving more and more people the boost they needed to help themselves and their communities. The more they gave away, the more they found they were richly blessed, and they always seemed to have more to give… more to invest in people. And so, out of their abundance, they also regularly gave to our youth program, and to our food ministry… and to so many other ministries. These men were quietly committed to sharing as much as they could, and they delighted in watching how their investments in people always brought returns. Blessing others and investing their money in helping to heal unjust economic systems… was a true joy for them… and their joy was our joy! And this gospel today… this challenging piece of good news… is also a source of joy. Because Jesus came to bring good news to the poor… to set the oppressed free, to restore us to each other… and to liberate us from the bondage of our sin… and Mammon… Mammon is a big one. But Jesus does not leave us to the destruction of our sin… Jesus calls us back, time and time again… back to God and to the source of our salvation. Jesus reminds us that we are commanded to serve only one God, who is above all other gods. A God who loves us and has given us the way of everlasting life… who liberates us… and points us toward the true richness found in relationships and community. So, love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself. Trust in the good news of Jesus and in God's commands. Do this… and you will be richly blessed. Amen. _________________________________________________________________________ Notes: www.kiva.org Commentary on Luke 16:1-13, by Barbara Rossing, on www.WorkingPreacher.org Commentary on Luke 16:1-13, by Mary Schertz, September 2007 issue of Christian Century

Poisonous Snakes, Divine Messages and Personal Growth (Pesachim 56a)

Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 43:17

In this episode of the Thinking Talmudist Podcast, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explores Parshas Chukas (Numbers 21:4-9) and Tractate Pesachim 56a, focusing on the episode of the poisonous serpents sent to punish the Jewish people for their complaints against God and Moshe, and the subsequent copper serpent created by Moshe as a divine remedy. He explains that the serpents were a measure-for-measure punishment for Lashon Hara (evil speech) and ingratitude, mirroring the primeval serpent's slander against God, which led to its curse of eating tasteless dust. The copper serpent, when gazed upon with proper intention toward God, healed those bitten, symbolizing a call to look heavenward and reconnect with Hashem. Rabbi Wolbe highlights King Chizkiyahu's destruction of this serpent and concealment of a book of remedies, as approved by the sages, because people began idolizing these objects instead of seeking repentance and divine connection. He connects this to the broader theme of affliction as a divine message for introspection, citing personal experiences like a burn during Passover preparations that prompted self-reflection and miraculous pain relief. Addressing Marilyn's question about genetic illnesses, Rabbi Wolbe suggests that such predispositions are divine warnings, not destinies, as some with similar genes remain unaffected, urging introspection to correct spiritual flaws. He emphasizes that all events, from personal ailments to global incidents, are tailored messages from Hashem to foster growth and closeness, concluding with a blessing for health and a Shabbos filled with divine connection.This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by David & Susan MarbinRecorded at TORCH Meyerland in the Levin Family Studios to a live audience on July 4, 2025, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on September 17, 2025_____________The Thinking Talmudist Podcast shares select teachings of Talmud in a fresh, insightful and meaningful way. Many claim that they cannot learn Talmud because it is in ancient Aramaic or the concepts are too difficult. Well, no more excuses. In this podcast you will experience the refreshing and eye-opening teachings while gaining an amazing appreciation for the divine wisdom of the Torah and the depths of the Talmud._____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinking-talmudist-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1648951154Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cZ7q9bGYSBYSPQfJvwgzmShare your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Help us share Jewish wisdom globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org. Your support makes a difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.org_____________Keywords:#Talmud, #DivineJustice, #Gratitude, #Serpent, #CopperSerpent, #MeasureforMeasure, #DivineMessages, #Illness ★ Support this podcast ★

Poisonous Snakes, Divine Messages and Personal Growth (Pesachim 56a)

Thinking Talmudist Podcast Â· Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 43:17

Israel Olofinjana - Why did Jesus speak Aramaic?

TheoDisc Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 45:55

A Biblical Theology for a Decolonised Mission We're back! After a bit of an hiatus over the summer, TheoDisc is pleased to be bringing you some truly insightful chats with truly insightful theologians again! Our guest on this episode of TheoDisc, Rev Dr Israel Olofinjana, wants us to consider the ways that western Christian mission has been deeply influenced by the powers of colonisation, and that those influences are still felt today by people from the Majority World. By drawing us back to Jesus' own experience and ministry under a colonial power, Israel provokes the church to consider ways that we can reflect Jesus' subversive practices that witness to the way the kingdom of God overturns the power structures and patterns of worldly powers. In order for that to happen, Israel says, we need to decolonise the way we view Christian mission with Jesus as our guide. Enjoy! SHOWNOTES: Israel's essay, ‘Why Did Jesus Speak Aramaic?': https://bit.ly/3SIUaE9 Israel's Books: https://bit.ly/4l6kUuu Israel's Blog: https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/

jesus christ israel books speak blog kingdom of god aramaic biblical theology majority world

More than Hype—Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, September 14, 2025

ReCreate Church's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2025 42:29

More than Hype ReCreate Church | Michael Shockley | September 14, 2025 1 John Series, Part 1: More than Hype 1 John 1:1-4 ---------- EPISODE SUMMARY In the opening message of a new series on 1 John, Michael Shockley introduces us to the incredible journey of John the Apostle - from a barefoot boy splashing in the Sea of Galilee to the last living eyewitness of Jesus Christ. Through the colorful backstory of "Johannan" (John's Aramaic name), discover how a hot-tempered fisherman's son became known as the "Apostle of Love." This message establishes that our faith isn't based on hype, legend, or secondhand stories, but on the real, tangible experiences of people who lived with Jesus daily for three years. John's opening verses in his first epistle emphasize what he personally heard, saw, looked upon, and touched - making the case that the Gospel is more than hype, more than history, but the very Life of Jesus living in believers today. Core Message: The Gospel is more than hype, more than history — it's The Life of Jesus in us. ---------- KEY TOPICS COVERED The Story of John the Apostle - Born as "Johannan" in Bethsaida, son of Zebedee and Salome - Growing up as a fisherman with calloused hands and stormy nights - Transformation through John the Baptist's preaching and baptism The Call to Follow Jesus - John the Baptist pointing to Jesus as "the Lamb of God" - The moment John's spiritual compass found "true North" - Jesus choosing both John and James as disciples despite their rough edges - The nickname "Boanerges" (Sons of Thunder) for their fiery tempers - Jesus' correction when they wanted to call down fire on Samaritans John's Special Relationship with Jesus - Being part of the inner circle with Peter and James - Witnessing the Transfiguration and Jesus' glory shining like the sun - Sitting beside Jesus at the Last Supper, asking bold questions - Being the only disciple to stand at the foot of the Cross - Receiving the personal mission to care for Mary, Jesus' mother From Death to Resurrection - John's heartbreak at Jesus' death, not understanding the promise of resurrection - Sprinting to the empty tomb on Easter morning - Seeing and touching the Risen Christ for forty days - Receiving the Great Commission to spread the news worldwide - Becoming "a man on fire for the mission" after Jesus' ascension A Life of Persecution and Ministry - Multiple arrests and beatings for preaching the Gospel - Watching his brother James become the first apostle martyred - All other apostles dying violent deaths for their faith - Moving to Ephesus to father the local churches - Writing the Gospel of John to record previously untold stories Exile and Final Years - Surviving execution by boiling oil through divine protection - Exile to the rocky island of Patmos for his continued witness - Receiving and recording the visions that became the Book of Revelation - Returning to Ephesus in frail old age but with powerful words - Writing three epistles recognized as Holy Spirit-breathed truth The Credibility of the New Testament - Written by eyewitnesses and those who interviewed eyewitnesses - Composed within decades of the actual events, not centuries later - Authors gained no earthly advantage - only persecution and death - Hundreds of people could have disputed fabricated details - The ultimate test: would you die for something you knew was false? The Reality of Jesus as "The Word of Life" - John's emphasis on tangible, physical experience with Jesus - Not debating an idea but introducing a Person he knew intimately - God becoming physical reality because humanity couldn't reach God - The Life and Salvation of Jesus "manifested" - made real and obvious - Jesus putting on humanity, sandals, and walking dusty roads The Purpose of John's Writing - To share what he literally saw and heard with his own senses - To bring others into fellowship with Jesus and the family of believers - To continue the declaration started by all the apostles - To help people connect with Jesus and avoid doing life alone - That readers' "joy may be full" - complete joy found in Jesus Modern Eyewitnesses and Testimonies - We may not have literally seen Jesus like John did - But we can testify to His miracles and power in our lives today - Brokenness made whole, addiction overcome, selfishness transformed - Bitterness replaced with forgiveness, anxiety with unexplainable peace - The biggest miracle: people coming out of darkness into Light Understanding Joy That Is Full - Joy isn't dependent on pleasant circumstances or material possessions - People with easier lives often complain more than those with struggles - Family and good things bring limited joy that can be broken - True joy cannot depend on what we have or what happens - Fullness of joy CAN be found in fellowship with Jesus ---------- MEMORABLE QUOTES "The Gospel is more than hype, more than history — it's The Life of Jesus in us." "The compass needle found true North." "Jesus wasn't like any Rabbi Johanan had ever known." "The Kingdom of God would be built with love, not vengeance." "Only the one who did not run from death escaped death." "The Son of Thunder became the Apostle of Love." "He outran Peter to the tomb, outlived all the others, and outlasted exile to bring you this message." "Joy cannot depend on what we have or what happens. It depends on Who Jesus Is." "Just like a healthy plant drops seeds that are able to sprout and grow new plants, a healthy believer spreads the seed of The Good News." "I have seen Jesus. I have heard Him. I have touched Him. And it changed me forever." ---------- BIBLICAL FOUNDATION - Primary Text: 1 John 1:1-4 - Key Theme: Eyewitness testimony to the reality of Jesus Christ - Historical Context: John writing as the last living apostle - Emphasis: Physical, tangible experience with Jesus ("heard," "seen," "looked upon," "handled") - Purpose Statement: Fellowship with God and complete joy in believers - Connection: The Word of Life manifested in human form ---------- PRACTICAL APPLICATION If You Question Whether Jesus Really Existed: - Consider the historical evidence from multiple eyewitness accounts - Remember these weren't legends written centuries later - The apostles gained nothing earthly and died for their testimony - Ask yourself: would you die for something you knew was false? - Examine the transformation in the lives of the eyewitnesses If You Feel Like Your Faith Is Just Ideas or Rules: - Understand that Christianity is relationship with a Person, not a system - Know that Jesus became physically present because we couldn't reach God - Remember that faith is about knowing Jesus personally, not just knowing about Him - Allow the reality of who Jesus is to transform your daily experience - Let His life live in you rather than trying to follow external rules If You Feel Alone in Your Spiritual Journey: - Recognize that fellowship is a core purpose of John's message - Church isn't just a Sunday event but a family of believers - Connect with people who know your name and walk with you through struggles - Don't try to do life alone - God designed us for community - Find or create spaces where genuine spiritual fellowship can happen If Your Joy Feels Incomplete: - Understand that joy doesn't depend on pleasant circumstances - Remember that even good things like family have limitations - Don't base joy on what you have or what happens to you - Ground your joy in who Jesus is rather than temporary things - Seek the fullness of joy that comes through fellowship with Jesus If You Haven't Shared Your Faith Recently: - Ask yourself why you don't feel a nudge to share what you've experienced - Remember that healthy believers naturally spread the Good News - Consider what Jesus has done in your life that others need to hear - Be an eyewitness to His power and miracles in your own experience - Share your story of transformation and hope with others ---------- THE ULTIMATE INVITATION Maybe you've always thought of Jesus as just a historical figure, a good teacher, or even religious hype. But John's testimony calls us to something far greater - a personal encounter with the Living Christ. The same Jesus who walked dusty roads, ate with tax collectors, calmed storms, and rose from the dead is available to you today. Not as an idea to understand, but as a Person to know. Not as history to study, but as Life to experience. The little boy who splashed in Galilee became an old man who could say, "I have seen Jesus, heard Him, touched Him, and it changed me forever." Today, Jesus offers you the same life-changing encounter. Will you let His life live in you? ---------- CONNECT WITH RECREATE CHURCH - Website: recreatechurch.org - Support the Ministry: Give through the Tithe.ly app or offering boxes ---------- Have you moved beyond seeing Jesus as just a historical figure or religious concept to experiencing Him as a living Person? What testimony do you have of His work in your life that others need to hear? The Gospel is more than hype, more than history - it's the Life of Jesus available to live in you today.

Aramaic Word of the Day - Silence - Shtiqotho

commentary btw psalm 91 aramaic

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2025 7:34

I remember standing on the edge of the Judean wilderness, where the rocky cliffs fall sharply into dry wadis, and the silence feels heavier than words. As a tour guide, I often see visitors surprised by the vast emptiness of this land—no shade, no streams, only desert winds and the relentless sun. In the Western imagination, a desert is often a place of desolation and abandonment. But in the Semitic mind, the desert was not a place to fear—it was a place of encounter. In the Western world, silence is often seen as the absence of sound, a void to be filled with activity, music, or words. But in the Semitic world, silence carries weight and depth—it is not emptiness but presence. For our ancestors in faith, silence was not simply the lack of noise but the fertile ground where God's word could take root and bear fruits. Today's Aramaic word is ܫܬܝܩܘܬܐ (Shtiqotho), meaning “silence” or “stillness.” It comes from the root sh-t-q, which implies both quietness and attentive waiting. In Hebrew, its cognate shetīqāh carries the same idea. But in Aramaic, silence was not passive—it was active listening, a disposition of the heart that makes space for divine encounter. This is why early Syriac monks described their discipline of silence not as withdrawal but as “guarding the tongue so the heart can speak.” To practice Shtiqotho was to allow the soul to lean into God's whisper. Consider Habakkuk 2:20: “But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence (הַס) before Him.” In Aramaic thought, this was not a command to stifle yourself but an invitation to reverence. When Yeshua stood before Pilate, accused and mocked, His silence was not weakness but profound testimony. His Shtiqotho revealed His authority and trust in the Father's plan. Likewise, in 1 Kings 19, Elijah did not find God in the earthquake or fire but in the qol demamah daqqah—the “still small voice,” which an Aramaic hearer would understand as the voice that is only discerned in silence. Now consider your own life. In Western culture, we often equate faith with constant speech—more prayers, more songs, more activity. But perhaps God is calling you into Shtiqotho , to rest from endless striving and rediscover that He is God in the stillness. When you embrace holy silence, you are not withdrawing from God but drawing nearer to Him. In silence, anxieties settle, distractions fade, and your spirit begins to hear the gentle leading of the Shepherd. Silence does not diminish faith—it sharpens it. So today, allow yourself a few moments of Shtiqotho. Step away from noise, resist the urge to fill every gap, and let God's voice speak into your stillness. It is in the quiet spaces that transformation often begins. And if you would like to continue exploring how Aramaic words unlock the richness of Scripture and reshape discipleship. www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com

god father lord kings western silence scripture pilates semitic aramaic word of the day judean in hebrew in western syriac

BTW psalm 91 Aramaic commentary

ChrisFry67

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2025 14:50

BTW psalm 91 Aramaic commentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itAU9Lw0YSQ

Yah as Father  Abba  Daddy -- Yah is Gentle

Relationship with Creator

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2025 49:12 Transcription Available

At the time of writing the original article I had been helping a highly committed individual to chart their course with Father Yah and it became apparent that he was very fearful of harsh treatment by Yah. I was impressed to reassure him that Yah is gentle. He is a loving Father where the word translated Father in the Hebrew and Aramaic is more accurately translated as “Daddy”.In over 30 years of walking closely with Daddy Yah I have NEVER experienced Him as vengeful or aggressiveRelationship With Creator is broadcast live Fridays 12Noon – 1PM ET and Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Relationship With Creator is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).Relationship With Creator Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/relationship-with-creator--3198941/support.

Aramaic Word of the Day - Midbaro - The Wilderness

god lord israel western scripture greek wilderness hebrew middle eastern semitic adversary yeshua aramaic word of the day judean jordan valley

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2025 6:43

The Wilderness: Midbaro (Dbar) I remember sitting in the desert near Jericho, watching the sun set over the Jordan Valley. The land seemed endless, dry, and silent, and I thought of the generations who wandered here prophets, exiles, and pilgrims who learned that life in the wilderness was not wasted time but the very place where God reshaped His people. To the Western mindset, a desert is a barren land to be avoided, a symbol of emptiness and lack. But in the Middle Eastern imagination, the desert is the classroom of God, a place of encounter, purification, and transformation. The wilderness strips away distractions until you hear only the voice that matters. Today's Aramaic word is midbaro (Dbar), meaning “wilderness” or “desert.” Its root d-b-r carries multiple shades of meaning, including “to lead” and even “to speak.” This linguistic overlap is not accidental: in the Semitic world, the desert is where God leads (dbar) and where God speaks (dabar in Hebrew). The wilderness is not silence but the very theater of divine revelation. For those shaped by Greek or Western thought, revelation is often tied to temples, libraries, or polished sermons. But for the prophets of Israel and the early followers of Yeshua, revelation often came in the lonely windswept valleys of the desert, where the only sound was the whisper of God. Consider Deuteronomy 8:2, where Moses reminds Israel: “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness (בַּמִּדְבָּר / bammidbar) these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character.” In Aramaic, the word dbar would have resonated deeply—it was not just the place of testing but also the place of voice, the arena where Israel learned dependence and covenant faithfulness. Yeshua Himself chose the dbar—forty days in the Judean wilderness—to confront the Adversary and to affirm His identity as the beloved Son. For Him, the wilderness was not an accident but a preparation. Judean Wilderness near Jericho Now think of your own journey. You may see seasons of dryness, silence, or waiting as wasted time. Western culture tells you that productivity and success are the only measures of meaning. But in God's eyes, your dbar seasons are sacred. These are the places where distractions are peeled away, where old idols are burned off, and where your ears learn to recognize the Shepherd's voice. If you are walking through a wilderness right now, do not despise it. The dbar is where God both leads and speaks, where He forms your character so that you can carry His presence with strength into the promised land of your calling. So today, embrace your wilderness moments as holy ground. Do not rush past them or curse their silence. Instead, listen—because the desert is not empty, it is filled with the voice of God. He is leading you in your dbar, and He will speak to you there. If you want to continue exploring how Aramaic words open Scripture with new light and meaning, I invite you to journey deeper at www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com #AramaicWisdom #BiblicalHebrew #MiddleEasternChristianity #TwinsBiblicalAcademy #JesusThroughMiddleEasternEyes #SemiticRoots #DailyDevotional #DesertFaith #JudeanWilderness

From All Directions

New Collective Church

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2025 50:46

Acts 21:27-30 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.) 30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. From All Directions Acts 22:1-10 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” 2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?' I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. “ ‘Get up,' the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget where GOD brought you from. Acts 23:1-11 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God's high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” Don't miss the moment. Don't miss GOD IN the moment. 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Don't underestimate where you might go. Don't underestimate where GOD might take you.

Rapture Perspectives

god jesus christ father lord podcasts christians teach anchor perspectives thessalonians hebrew application rapture aramaic lord himself new american standard bible christ it

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2025 19:24

How Did We Get the Bible?

The church of Christ on McDermott Road

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2025

We cannot expect people to believe the story the Bible tells unless the Bible is a credible witness. Our Bibles are a translation based on thousands of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts. Those manuscripts are not the original texts written by the author, but were copied by countless scribes. This process the Bible has undergone […]

bible greek hebrew bibles aramaic

Divine Dissatisfaction (Tom Madden)

The Crossing Church

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 49:00

John 5:1-9 NIV 1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,Ezekiel 47:1-9 NIV 1 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.

jesus christ jewish jerusalem divine sabbath bethesda sir niv aramaic dead sea dissatisfaction swarms sheep gate tom madden

Beyond the Rapture: Leo De Siqueira Shares What Revelation Really Says About the End

Seek Go Create

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2025 44:13 Transcription Available

Have you ever wondered if the Book of Revelation was meant to be a riddle for today's readers, or if its mysterious symbols actually made perfect sense to the early church? In this episode of Seek Go Create, host Tim Winders welcomes back theologian Leo De Siqueira to unpack the language, history, and meaning behind Revelation's most puzzling images—like the beast, Babylon, and the infamous 666. Together, they challenge modern assumptions, reveal surprising insights from the Aramaic text, and explore what John's visions truly meant for his first-century audience. If you're ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about Revelation, this conversation is for you."Heaven and earth becoming one—that is the revelation and the culmination of Christ's victory." - Leo De Siqueira Access all show and episode resources HEREAbout Our Guest:Leo De Siqueira is a theologian and author renowned for his in-depth, three-part commentary series on the book of Revelation. His scholarship focuses on understanding Revelation within its first-century context, highlighting the significance of the Aramaic language and the victory of Christ. With academic training in Hebrew and Greek, Leo leverages his linguistic expertise to unearth subtle nuances within biblical texts, bringing fresh insight into the prophetic literature. He is recognized for challenging traditional interpretations and promoting a holistic, historically informed approach to Scripture. Reasons to Listen: Discover how understanding the original Aramaic language and first-century context radically changes the meaning of key themes in Revelation—beyond what most modern interpretations offer.Get myth-busting answers to hot topics like the rapture, 666, the Beast, and the rebuilding of the temple—explained in a way that challenges long-held beliefs with historical and biblical evidence.Explore why the prophetic imagery in Revelation resonated deeply with its first audience, and how those symbols connect to the bigger story of life, death, and hope in the Bible—possibly reshaping your whole perspective.Episode Resources & Action Steps:Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Leo De Siqueira's 3-Part Commentary Series on Revelation - Leo references his own three-book series that dives deeply into Revelation from a first-century, Aramaic, and historical context. (Book titles include in part: "Dawn of Eternity.")Bible Translation Software - Leo mentions using Bible translation tools for studying Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts to gain greater nuance and understanding.Historical Writings of Josephus - While not discussed in detail, both Leo and Tim reference the historical accounts of Josephus, especially regarding events surrounding 70 AD, making his works a core supplemental resource.Action Steps for Listeners:Re-examine Your Understanding of Revelation - Instead of interpreting Revelation strictly through modern lenses or one-verse doctrines, approach it as first-century listeners would by considering language, historical context, and Jewish prophecy.Explore the Historical and Cultural Context - Read Leo De Siqueira's commentary series or similar resources that incorporate Aramaic texts and first-century Jewish perspectives to broaden your understanding of Revelation's symbolism and meaning.Dig Deeper into Biblical Languages and History - Use Bible translation software or online courses to explore passages in their original languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) and consult historical sources like Josephus for context around New Testament...

Guilt versus Shame

god jesus christ father lord podcasts shame jerusalem teach anchor guilt hebrew application persia aramaic new american standard bible

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2025 20:01

Revelation Revealed: Leo De Siqueira on Context, Covenant, and Jesus Beyond the Fear

Seek Go Create

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2025 48:59

Have you ever wondered if the Book of Revelation has been misunderstood for generations—or if we've been reading it with the wrong lens altogether? In this engaging episode of Seek Go Create, Tim Winders sits down with Revelation scholar and author Leo De Siqueira to challenge fear-based interpretations and explore the true context of Revelation. Together, they unpack the clash of covenants, the pivotal events of the first century, and why understanding early church history could transform how you see the Bible's most mysterious book. If you've felt intimidated, confused, or even disillusioned by Revelation, this episode will open your eyes to a hopeful and restorative message hiding in plain sight."It's unfair to just dissect a book of the Bible and argue to defend it—there's a huge narrative in play with a lot of mystery." - Leo De Siqueira Access all show and episode resources HEREAbout Our Guest:Leo De Siqueira is a theologian, linguist, and author recognized for his deep scholarship on the Book of Revelation. Approaching scripture through the lens of Aramaic—the language of Jesus—and situating his interpretations in first-century historical context, Leo uncovers a hopeful and victorious message that challenges traditional, fear-based readings of Revelation. With four books to his name, including a detailed series on Revelation, Leo's work is extensively researched and footnoted, blending academic rigor with accessibility. His insights offer listeners a fresh perspective grounded in history, original language, and a broad understanding of God's restorative narrative.Reasons to Listen: Discover a Fresh Perspective on Revelation: Leo De Siqueira unpacks the historical and cultural context of the first century, challenging the fear-based interpretations many grew up with and revealing a more hopeful, restorative message.Unravel Overlapping Covenants: Learn about the fascinating 40-year period when both the Mosaic and New Covenants were active—an insight that completely reshapes how we understand biblical prophecy and the New Testament's urgency.Get Real Answers with Historical Evidence: The episode dives deep into overlooked historical facts, including firsthand accounts (like Josephus) of the destruction of Jerusalem, and connects them to prophecies—raising new questions about what Revelation really meant to its original audience.Episode Resources & Action Steps:Sure! Here are the resources and action steps mentioned during this episode of Seek Go Create with Leo De Siqueira:Resources Mentioned:Books by Leo De Siqueira: Specifically, “Revelation: Dawn of This Age” (the first book in his Revelation series). Tim also refers to Leo's other books that explore early church history and the historical context of Revelation.Book: "Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament" by Jonathan Bernier: This book is directly mentioned as a valuable resource for understanding the early dating of New Testament writings and is recommended by both Leo and Tim.Writings of Early Church Historians & FathersJosephus' historical accounts (especially surrounding the events of AD 70), Eusebius' "Church Histories"General encouragement to look at early church fathers (disciples of the disciples) for a clearer message on early Christianity.Action Steps for Listeners:Reframe How You Approach Revelation: Start...

A Sermon for St. Bartholomew’s Day

Living Words

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2025

A Sermon for St. Bartholomew's Day Acts 5:12-16 by William Klock St. Bartholomew the Apostle. He's pretty much a mystery. As far as the New Testament goes, Matthew, Mark, and Luke list him as one of the twelve. Beyond that, we have nothing. His name, Bar tholomais probably means “son of Tolomai”, but it may actually be his given name since when Matthew, Mark, and Luke want to refer to someone as “son of So-and-so” they use the Greek way of doing it not the Aramaic “bar So-and-so”. Since John never mentions Bartholomew, but does mention Nathanael, some think that the two are the same. I don't find the argument very convincing. Various stories and legends describe him going off to evangelise India or Pontus or Armenia, amongst other places. When I consider sources and dates, I think the story of him taking the gospel to India is probably the most likely. Almost without a doubt he was martyred for proclaiming Jesus the Messiah—probably flayed and maybe then beheaded. He was an apostle—one of Jesus' hand-picked messengers sent to herald the good news—so what we can confidently say is that that's exactly what he did and that he probably died, very painfully, for the sake of his Lord. But since there are no scripture passages that tell us about him, our Epistle and Gospel today are simply passages that tell us about the apostles in general. So with that, I'd like to look at our Epistle —Acts 5:12-16. Here's, again, what Luke writes: Many signs and wonders were done by the hands of the apostles amongst the people. They were all together in Solomon's Porch. None of the others dared to join them, though the people spoke highly of them. But more people, a crowd of both men and women, believed the Lord and were added to their number. They used to bring the sick into the streets and place them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on them as he went by. Crowds gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing people who were sick or troubled by unclean spirits. All of them were healed. One Saturday morning back in my computer tech days I found a woman sitting in her car outside the door when I showed up to open the store. She was from out of town and afraid that if she waited to call until we were open, there wouldn't be time to fix her computer the same day. So she just showed up. And she had a box of doughnuts by way of apology—or bribe—really a little of both. So I got to work on the computer and the doughnuts while she watched and talked to me. They were really good doughnuts and I told her and she told me she'd made them herself. In fact, she owned a little doughnut shop in a tourist town an hour away. And she told me how she got started. There was only one place in town that sold doughnuts, but they didn't make them. Their doughnuts were delivered from the city and were a day old—at least—by the time they were served. She opened up a little place in a converted camping trailer selling doughnuts and coffee to the tourists, but the coffee shop that had been there forever had a corner on the coffee and doughnut market, plus a primo location to catch the tourists. She was about to call it quits, when the owner of the garden shop across the street from the coffee shop came to see her. The garden shop and the coffee shop were in some kind of spat and the owner of the garden shop decided to invite this woman to park her trailer in their parking lot. See, the tourist industry there was all about tulips. People would come to see the tulips and the reason that old coffee shop was in such a good location was because the place across the street—the garden shop—sold tulip bulbs from the local growers. People came to see the tulips, then they went to the garden shop to buy bulbs, and finally ended up across the street for coffee and doughnuts. But coffee and doughnuts in the parking lot of the garden shop was more convenient than coffee and doughnuts across the street. It helped that her doughnuts were better and that they were fresh. So pretty soon all the people were crowding around her trailer for doughnuts instead of going to the old mainstay across the street. And, of course, the coffee shop owner wasn't happy. He went to the town council and tried to have “mobile restaurants” banned from town—an early version of today's restauranteurs trying to ban competition from food trucks. It didn't work and this woman who'd brought her computer in eventually won the doughnut war. That's a bit like what's going on in Acts 5. Pay attention to the fact that this is Acts 5. This is right at the beginning of the story. These are the days and weeks just after Pentecost. And if Peter and James and John had gone back home to Galilee and done these signs and wonders, they would have drawn crowds just like Jesus had done there, but being so far away from Jerusalem, they probably wouldn't have drawn the ire of the Jewish religious authorities. The Pharisees, of course, were always there scowling and scolding, but the Pharisees weren't the gatekeepers. They were just a popular interest group. But Peter and the other apostles didn't go back to Galilee. They stayed right in Jerusalem. Not only that, but Luke writes that they were meeting together in Solomon's Porch. Solomon's Porch was a great colonnade on the eastern side of the outer court of the temple. So the apostles would go to the temple to worship, but they would also spend their days gathered together, preaching, and doing signs and wonders in the outer court. This was where all the people were coming and going and it was probably near the house where the serving priests lived. It was a busy place. The temple wasn't a church, but what the apostles were doing would be a bit like coming to church and then hanging out afterward on the front porch or in the rectory garden. And the crowds would gather. Some of them stopped to listen or to be healed on their way to or from the temple proper, but many people were coming just to hear the teaching of the apostles. Many people were coming, just like they'd come to Jesus, because they'd heard that Peter and the others were casting out demons, giving sight to the blind, and healing the lame. And I fully expect that Peter was repeating several times a day the same thing he preached on Pentecost—about Jesus fulfilling the promises of the old covenant and making a new and better one. They'd set up a doughnut stand right in front of the established coffee shop that had been there forever. And they were selling delicious, fresh doughnuts while the coffee shop was still trying to sell day-olds delivered yesterday. So you can understand that this raised the ire of the Jewish authorities. The apostles weren't just tweaking the noses of some Pharisees in backwater villages. They were—you might say—stealing customers from the religious authorities and doing so right on their front porch. And let's talk about the healings that were happening, because I've noticed that we're very, very, very, very prone to taking passages like this out of context. It's not just that the apostles were working a multitude of healing miracles. It gets pretty weird. Luke says that people would even lay out their sick loved ones just so Peter's shadow would fall on them and they'd be healed. Every last one of them, Luke seems to be saying, was healed. The part about Peter's shadow seems kind of over-the-top. I can't help but think of various medieval stories of people being healed by the relics of saints or people stealing Baby Jesus' diapers off Mary's washline and being healed by them. And yet Peter's shadow isn't the only weird thing like this in Acts that we might be tempted to doubt. Luke also tells us later in Acts that people would take Paul's handkerchiefs and use them to heal the sick. And there are people today who think that stuff like this should be the norm always and everywhere. There are scammers sending out vials of holy water or oil as a cure-all and televangelists who will wave their jackets at a line-up of people and claim they've been healed. And if you don't experience miracles like this in your own life or in your own church, well, they'll shame you and tell you that you lack faith. A few weeks ago someone sent me some commentary about a new “worship” song that came out of one of those sorts of places. The song calls for revival and courage and strength and faith, which are all good things and all things the church today often lacks, but then the heart of the song is a prayer for a new Pentecost. They don't see the sort of miraculous happenings today that we see in Acts 5 and they think that what we need is another Pentecost. What they're saying is that the modern church—or at least mainstream churches that don't do the things they claim to do—lack the Holy Spirit. And I cringed. That's no different than saying that because some Christians still walk in sin, we need Jesus to die again. No. A thousand times, no! Just like Jesus death and resurrection, Pentecost has already happened. It was a one-time event. We don't need another one. What we need is to live as the people, as the community, as the church born that day when God poured out his Spirit. And, in some cases, we need to read scripture better so that we don't set unrealistic expectations. Remember, Brothers and Sisters, miracles are acts of God, not acts of men and women. If God wants us to see miracles, nothing is going to stop him. If he could act through a pagan prophet like Balaam, he can act through even the most lukewarm Christian. Maybe the problem is that we've misunderstood what God was doing through the apostles in the book of Acts. Remember that context is everything, so let's look at this story about the apostles in context. When Jesus had risen from the grave a few week earlier, he inaugurated God's new creation. He was the firstborn of the resurrection. God's new life went out like a shockwave from the empty tomb on Easter. And that new life, that new creation met the disciples of Jesus on Pentecost. And God wanted it be clear, he wanted the world to see that in Jesus and in this new covenant people who identified with Jesus, his kingdom, his new creation was being born. And so, first with Jesus and then with the apostles and those first believers, God did amazing things so that no one would or could mistake what was happening. Remember the people in the gospels, people like Nicodemus who said to Jesus, “No one can do the things you do unless he's from God.” Jesus' signs and wonders validated his messiahship. And now, as we get into Acts, we see that God wanted to make sure that when those first Christians started telling people the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead and that new creation had begun, they had his witness, they had these signs and wonders to go along with their preaching and their actions. But it's wouldn't be like that forever. Miracles would stop being noteworthy if they happened all the time. We really need to pay attention to the big biblical story here. Miracles aren't a common thing in that story. They cluster around the times when God does something new. Think of the exodus from Egypt. The biggest cluster of miracles in the Old Testament is found in the Exodus: from the burning bush, to the plagues sent on Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh's army, to the water from the rock and the manna in the wilderness. But it doesn't stop there. That generation knew miracles like no other. They saw the Lord in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, leading them to the promised land. They knew the bronze serpent Moses raised up. They knew the miraculous battles won for them by the Lord. And when they marched into Canaan, the Lord dried up the Jordan. He won their battles and toppled cities like Jericho. And it happened so that Israel would powerfully know his goodness and his glory and then pass that knowledge to future generations. And, too, the Lord did these thing so that the nations would take note. The God of Israel is powerful and glorious and cares for his people. He's unlike any other god. But then take note: those future generations were expected to know the goodness and the faithfulness and glory of God, not through ongoing daily miracles, but through the witness of their fathers and through the scriptures. And, too, each new generation bore in its flesh the sign of circumcision, the sign of God's covenant with them and of his faithfulness. And every year the families of Israel gathered together and ate the Passover and participated themselves in the glorious events of the Exodus. The Lord took his people from the witness of miracles to the witness of what we might call the common means of grace. Miracles convinced a people who didn't know the Lord to trust and obey him. But the covenant people who then knew him, who lived with him in their midst, who had his word, who bore his covenant sign and ate his covenant meal—they didn't need miracles to know the Lord was worthy of their trust and obedience. And, Brothers and Sisters, the Lord followed exactly this pattern in the new exodus. Jesus' ministry and then the ministry of the apostles were full of the miraculous. Jesus himself and then the Spirit are the evidence of God's goodness and faithfulness and glory, but as Jesus led his people—not this time into Canaan, but into his new creation—he made that new creation manifestly real as he made all the sad things of this world become untrue, as he undid the real-world consequences of sin and death and as he showed how he had defeated the devils at the cross. In the book of Acts God shows the world very dramatically what the church is—that it is the beachhead of his kingdom, his new creation in the world. His church is the new covenant community, the temple in which he now dwells, the steward of both his Spirit and his gospel who will spread his new creation wherever it—wherever they—wherever we—go. Acts is about God's formation of his new people. Consider that the passage just before our Epistle today is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. It's telling that people will think miraculous healings should be everyday occurrences, but I've never heard anyone suggest that God striking down people who lie to the church should be just as ordinary. If it were, we'd have a lot of dead faith-healers. But we shouldn't expect that to happen. The Lord only needed to strike down a couple like Ananias and Sapphira once. The point isn't that this is what happens to people who lie to the church. The point is that this one frightening miracle should—and I think it has—reverberated down through the generations with the message that God expects holiness of his people. Acts 5 begins with that call to holiness and it makes it very plain that a church that lacks holiness, even if it isn't literally struck dead, will die. Jesus will take away its lampstand. We've seen that through history and we see it today. So, after establishing that holiness is an essential characteristic of the people of God (and not, that's what much of Exodus is about as well), Chapter 5 then continues with these signs and wonders done by the apostles to back up their proclamation that in Jesus new creation has begun. Again, the church doesn't ordinarily need miracles to show God's new creation. We show the world God's new creation as we live the fruit of the Spirit, as we bring the reconciling power of the gospel to broken people and broken relationships, and as we work to bring things like mercy and justice and life to a sin-broken world. But in those early days, the Jewish authorities could say that's just what they were already doing. So God gave better doughnuts to the apostles. And that's then followed by the arrest of the apostles by the temple authorities. They were angry because they'd set up a doughnut shop on their front porch and were stealing their customers. Just as they'd crucified Jesus to say, “He's not really the Messiah,” they have Peter and the others arrested to send the message, “Despite their miracles, these men are frauds. Don't believe them when they claim to be a new temple. That's blasphemy!” But do you remember what happened? That night as the apostles sat in their jail cells an angel appeared, set them free, and sent them back to the temple court to keep preaching the gospel. The next day the priests met to decide what to do with the apostles. They sent for them to be brought from the jail and that's when the guards reported they were gone. And that's when someone came running into the council chamber saying, “Look! The guys you arrested and put in prison are right now in the temple preaching.” It's God, again, backing up his newly established church with miracles. When he raised Jesus from the dead, he overturned the false verdict of Pilate and the Jews and this time he overturned the false verdict of the priests and validates the good news Peter was preaching. And the apostles took it to heart. They kept preaching and preaching and preaching—in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and eventually to the world—and all but John were martyred. They were killed for their faithful proclamation of Jesus. But they knew the same God who had raised Jesus from the dead would one day raise them. Death had no more power over them than the demons or sickness or prison doors. And their story was told through the generations of Christians to come: to Christians in Rome, to Christians in pagan nations, to Christians living under Communism, to Christian missionaries who gave their lives to proclaim to the good news to hostile people. They didn't need to experience miracles first hand. Just as Isreal knew the stories of the first exodus from Egypt, these Christian brothers and sisters knew the stories of the second exodus from sin and death. And as Israel bore God's covenant sign of circumcision and celebrated the Passover and remembered God's goodness and faithfulness and glory, so those Christians bore themselves the sign of baptism and celebrated the Lord's Supper and not only knew the goodness and faithfulness and glory of God, but they also knew—as we should too—that we are the embodiment of God's new creation, we are the stewards of his Spirit and his gospel, we are the beachhead of God's new creation. Miracles or not, what we need to remember is that the power to defeat the enemies of God is the power of his gospel and the power of his Spirit. It always has been and it always will be. Let's pray: O almighty and eternal God, who gave your apostle Saint Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love that Word, and both preach and receive it; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Transmission, Translations, and Trustworthiness of the Bible

The Christian Worldview radio program

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2025 54:00

Send us a textGUEST: JOSH BARZON, author, graphic designer, and content creator On X: @JoshuaBarzonThe claims of Scripture are far above and beyond any other book—inspired by God, without error, unchanging, unfailing. In a word, supernatural.The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:20-21: “know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”Or how about Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”Put together, God directed the authors what He wanted to communicate and God's Word powerfully accomplishes God's desires in the human heart.Now consider that the 66 books of the Bible were authored by 40 men over a span of 1500 years in three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) on three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe). The original manuscripts written by these 40 authors no longer exist but thousands of full or partial copies of the original books do exist. Nearly 25,000 copies of the New Testament alone exist. Compare that to Homer's Iliad with only 2000 copies. The existence of so many copies of Scripture allows them to be compared to each other to authenticate accuracy. In other words, more copies results in more certainty.The Bible has also been translated from its original languages into hundreds of languages, with dozens of translations and paraphrases in the English language alone—King James Version, Geneva Bible, New American Standard, English Standard Version, New International Version, and on and on.Taking all this into consideration, is the Bible we have in our English language today an accurate representation of what the authors of Scripture wrote or has there been significant loss of the text during its transmission from original manuscripts? And what about the many English versions—are they fully trustworthy to be considered the Word of God?Josh Barzon has done much research on the transmission and translations of the Bible. He was born in the Middle East and now lives in America, working as a content creator, graphic designer, and author of The Forgotten Preface: Surprising Insights on the Translation Philosophy of the King James Translators.He joins us to discuss the supernatural Scriptures and how God has preserved His Word precisely over the centuries so that can know when you read the Word of God, you can know you are hearing from the God of the Word.

TULIP: Calvinism vs Arminianism

god jesus christ father lord bible podcasts romans teach anchor hebrew application his son tulips calvinism aramaic calvinists arminianism arminians new american standard bible

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2025 30:45 Transcription Available

Matthew 12:35

BIBLE IN TEN

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2025 7:28

Friday, 22 August 2025 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Matthew 12:35 “The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil” (CG). In the previous verse, Jesus called the Pharisees vipers' offspring, telling them that from the surplus of the heart, the mouth speaks. He next explains the result of that, saying, “The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good.” The word ekballo, to cast out or eject, is used. It is more forceful than “bring out,” such as in the NKJV. The meaning then is that the goodness of a good man wells up inside him until the point where goodness simply exudes from him, being ejected under its own pressure. The words here show us that Jesus' words in Matthew 9:17 are a comparative statement intended to make a point. In responding to being called “Good Teacher,” Jesus said – “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Jesus was making a comparison of goodness in relation to God. Likewise, Jesus is here making a comparison between people. One is good in relation to others. Because he is, good things will be ejected from him. This is certainly a comparative statement, because even a good person can get frustrated or fed up, and something not so good will come out of his mouth. However, his character in general is one that demonstrates an inherent goodness in relation to others. Likewise, Jesus says, “and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil.” This is a person who is comparatively evil. The things that come out of such people, welling up and being ejected into their regular conversation, will be evil. But even such “evil” people can say something nice. Jesus is referring to their general character. To get the sense of such a person, all one needs to do is turn on the TV and watch people arguing from a political standpoint. Those on the left will spew forth invectives, call out for illegal activities to be condoned, rage against goodness while embracing those who do truly wicked things, etc. To them, morality is defined by theft and murder, not hard work and self-sufficiency. Those who pray to God are an offense who must be silenced. Because of their character, evil proceeds from them like a well under pressure. In opening their mouths to speak, the evil gushes forth. Life application: In Luke 6:45, the same words are spoken by Jesus in His sermon to the people, but there are differences – Matthew - “The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects [ekballo] good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects [ekballo] evil.” Luke - “The good man, from the good treasure of his heart, he hauls [propheró] good, and the evil, from the evil hauls [propheró] the evil. For from the heart's surplus, it speaks – his mouth.” In Matthew, different words concerning the motion of what is in the heart are used. One says to eject while the other uses a word meaning to bear forward. A good single word to get the intent would be to haul. Also, in Matthew, the thought about the heart's abundance came in the preceding verse, whereas Luke places it afterwards. Other slight variations in the Greek exist as well. So the question may be asked, “Which is the original and which one has an error?” Or the statement may be made, “See, there is a contradiction in the two accounts.” When you are faced with such a question or statement, how will you respond? A suitable explanation is that both can be correct. This could be for various reasons. The first is that it is assumed that Jesus was originally speaking in Aramaic. Different people will write what they heard in Greek in different ways. Likewise, the change in order of what is said may be a part of that translation process. Therefore, such changes would be expected. But what if the person says, “But even the context of what is said is different! One is to the Pharisees and one during a sermon!” Is this a contradiction? Not at all! How many times have you repeated a point that is true in your life? Jesus was preaching and proclaiming. He probably stated the same truth innumerable times that are not recorded, along with those that are. He may have changed the structure of His words, chosen different words, and spoken these things in a multitude of contexts. If the narratives were identical, those who want to tear apart the Bible would (and do!) say that the accounts were simply copies and the events belong to one source. Thus, there are not three different testimonies to Jesus' work. If they have any differences, the accusation that there are contradictions immediately arises. Don't let such things bother you. Be prepared to show these people the folly of their thinking. From there, drop the argument. Some people wouldn't be content if God spoke the word of Scripture personally. Wait... He did! “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 Lord God, we trust that You have given us a word that carries Your intent for us to know and understand what You desire for us. Help us to be diligent in reading it and contemplating it all the days of our lives. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

god tv jesus christ bible scripture greek pharisees amen lord god in matthew matthew 12 in luke cg days of our lives nkjv aramaic all scripture good teachers

I Am 50. The Year of My Jubilee.A Return to Joy, to Silence, and to the Sacred Land inside my Soul!

god jesus christ father greek jews sons galatians adoption gentiles heirs his son aramaic abba father live discussion

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2025 24:57

In the West, birthdays are often a personal spotlight candles, gifts, and applause for one more lap around the sun. But here, in the land where the Scriptures were breathed, time feels different. In the Aramaic and Hebraic world, the day you were born is not just a date to repeat every year. it's the moment God appointed you to step into His unfolding story. I have spent much of my life leading others through the Holy Land land showing pilgrims the stones, the olive trees, the paths of Yeshua. But now, the Spirit is guiding me through the inner terrain of my own soul. There are fields inside me that need to rest, Old vineyards needing song again. I hear the shofar not with my ears, but in my chest. A blast of mercy. A call to begin again. For more video teachings check our Academy www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com

god spirit soul west silence scriptures jubilee holy land yeshua aramaic hebraic sacred land

LIVE DISCUSSION: Heirs, Sons, Adoption (Part 3 of 5)

The Bible Provocateur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2025 39:18 Transcription Available

Send us a textThe profound difference between servants and heirs forms the foundation of this powerful exploration of spiritual inheritance. Through a careful examination of Galatians 4, we uncover the transformative truth that God's children are recipients of inheritance by promise rather than by works.What does it mean to be named in God's will? We dive deep into the reality that before we even knew God, He had established us as heirs of His inheritance. This inheritance isn't something we earn through law-keeping but something we receive simply because the Father has named us in His testament. The law, though good and perfect for its purpose, served as a schoolmaster to prepare us for receiving this inheritance—not as the means to obtain it.The moment that changed everything came when "the fullness of time" arrived and God sent His Son, born of a woman and under the law. Christ's mission? To redeem those under the law's condemnation so we might receive adoption as sons. This remarkable truth reveals how God adopts His own children back from the guardians and tutors who prepared them, bringing them fully into their rightful place in His family.Many believers struggle to grasp the fullness of what Christ accomplished. His perfect righteousness becomes ours—not just the removal of sin, but the positive imputation of His holiness to our account. When we cry "Abba Father" in both Aramaic and Greek, we declare that God's fatherhood extends to all believers worldwide, breaking down barriers between Jew and Gentile and establishing one family of faith.If you've wondered about the relationship between God's sovereignty and human choice in salvation, or struggled to understand your position as God's child, this message will bring clarity and comfort. Join us as we discover the freedom that comes from knowing we are no longer servants but sons and daughters—joint heirs with Christ of everything the Father has promised.Support the show

Learning to Preach Like Jesus - Re-Release

Expositors Collective

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2025 43:49

Many people consider Jesus to be a great teacher and preacher, but few actually realise just how incredible and multilayered His teachings actually were.In this episode of Expositors Collective, Mike speaks with Dr. Peter J. Williams, the principal of Tyndale House in Cambridge, and the chair of the International Greek New Testament Project. He is also a member of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee, and the author of several books, including: Can We Trust the Gospels?Dr. Williams' latest book is called The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal about the Greatest Teacher, in which he examines Jesus' teachings in the Gospels and shows how we know that these teachings truly do originate with Jesus, and that they show an incredible awareness of, and connection to the Old Testament in a way that would have triggered the memories of the first listeners, and which contains layers of meaning for us as readers today. Peter also gives insight into fruitful evangelism, unlocking of knowledge and some of the ways that Tyndale House can help ordinary preachers like us! Dr Peter J. Williams is the Principal and CEO of Tyndale House, Cambridge. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he received his MA, MPhil, and PhD in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible. After his PhD, he was on staff in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge (1997–1998) and thereafter taught Hebrew and Old Testament as an Affiliated Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic at the University of Cambridge and Research Fellow in Old Testament at Tyndale House, Cambridge (1998–2003). From 2003 to 2007 he was on the faculty of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Deputy Head of the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy. Since 2007 he has been leading Tyndale House. Dr Williams is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge, Chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version of the Bible. He assisted Dr Dirk Jongkind in Tyndale House's production of a major edition of the Greek New Testament and his book Can We Trust the Gospels? (Crossway, 2018) has been translated into 13 languages. His latest book, The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal about the Greatest Teacher (Crossway), was published in October 2023.Resources Mentioned:Tyndale House - Exceptional research by people serious about Scripture: https://tyndalehouse.com/ Peter J Williams speaks on the surprising genius of Jesus at the Southern Baptist Seminary Gheens' Lectures 2023 in Louisville, USA. https://tyndalehouse.com/explore/videos/the-surprising-genius-of-jesus/Recommended Episodes: Amy Orr-Ewing: https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/apologetics-persuasion-and-evangelism-amy-orr-ewing Frederick Dale Bruner: https://expositorscollective.org/expositors-collective-podcast/pastoral-and-scholastic-earthiness-frederick-dale-bruner/Kieran Lenahan: https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/scripture-memorization-and-spiritual-formation-with-kieran-lenahanAmy Orr-Ewing : Join us August 22–23 at Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg for the nextExpositors Collective Training Weekend — a two-day, interactive eventdesigned to equip and encourage Bible teachers and preachers of allexperience levels.

united states god jesus christ ceo university history learning school bible gospel phd scripture scotland philosophy old testament principal register new testament cambridge louisville hebrew faculty like jesus divinity preach petersburg re release senior lecturer aberdeen research fellows lectures aramaic deputy head mphil crossway greatest teachers english standard version greek new testament tyndale house can we trust peter j williams affiliated lecturer dirk jongkind esv translation oversight committee

#42 The Allegory Story (Quickened Seeing Becomes Intimate Knowing Of Father—Aramaic Style)

father style intimate allegory aramaic

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 51:18

#42 The Allegory Story (Quickened Seeing Becomes Intimate Knowing Of Father—Aramaic Style)

Pastor Vera McEwen - Fierce Fearless Faith

god love jesus christ community living good news pastor thessalonians inspire fierce aramaic mcewen fearless faith biblical hebrew

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2025 41:01

Pastor Vera McEwen is incredibly excited to give an open welcome to all at Love God Ministries! An online community where all truly are welcome, Pastor Vera embodies the Love of Christ through witness and discipleship. She founded Love God Ministries because conversations with people revealed a need for a community of believers where it does not matter how you look but recognize that you are a child of God.Pastor Vera has been teaching and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Word of God for over 30 years. Her primary emphasis is spreading God's Love by providing pastoral care, preaching God's Loving Word, teaching God's Light-Filled Word, and implementing God's Living relational group architecture via in home communities.She is currently reviewing the prospects of a doctorate in religious studies with an emphasis on Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic as encouraged by her professors at seminary. In addition to her vocation as Pastor she ministers as a certified professional and personal coach.With God's help, she implements 1 Thessalonians 5.11, motivating people to be and do their very best by building one another up. Pastor Vera is a joyous, ever singing sister in Christ who after years of being pursued by God, stopped running and answered the call, halleluiah, הַלְלוּיָהhttps://www.lovegod-ministries.org/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.

At-One-Ment

Data Over Dogma

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2025 74:14

Atonement! It's one of the central ideas of Christianity, and is absolutely essential to Christian theology... so what is it? You might be surprised to know that throughout Christian history, atonement has meant many very different things. On this week's show, we'll discuss the twists and turns this idea has taken, as influential thinkers have grappled with the idea of the atonement of Jesus. Then, it's time to get lost in translation! Very few of us have put in the effort to actually learn to read ancient Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic, and the ones who have are just a bunch of show-offs (lookin' at you, McClellan!). So if we want to read the Bible, most of us are stuck with translations. But here's the thing: a Bible translation is WAY more complicated than people might think! It's a shockingly in-depth process, where thousands of decisions have to be made, and those decisions can deeply impact the meaning that gets transmitted. Yes, we're talking about choosing how to render a certain phrase or ancient idiom, but it's more than that. They have to choose which source text to use! There are competing source texts! It's a mess. ---- For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on the various social media places: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet??? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

jesus christ bible new york times christianity greek hebrew atonement lost in translation ment aramaic mcclellan dan mcclellan

#41 The Allegory Story (John 14–Aramaic Style—No Man Comes Unto The Father But By Me)

father style john 14 no man allegory aramaic

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2025 56:13

#41 The Allegory Story (John 14–Aramaic Style—No Man Comes Unto The Father But By Me)

Words Matter (2025)

The FLOT Line Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2025 27:01

In this episode of The FLOT Line, host Rick Hughes explores why accurate Bible teaching depends on understanding the original languages of Scripture—Hebrew, Aramaic, and koine Greek. He stresses the importance of a well-qualified pastor who can rightly divide the Word of God and warns against false teaching driven by emotion, tradition, or personal agenda. Rick explains how the Christian life must be grounded in doctrinal truth, spiritual growth, and a divine viewpoint—free from manipulation or distortion.Download Transcript: https://rhem.pub/words-matter-6ce6e9

god bible greek words matter aramaic rick hughes download transcript

Is Christ the Only Way? Dale Allen Hoffman (The Circle Ep. 49)

The Brian Piergrossi Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2025 101:12

What is the original Gospel? Dale Allen Hoffman, is an author, teacher, mystic, and a preminent scholar of ancient Aramaic (the original language spoken by Jesus) for over 30 years. In this episode of The Circle Dale joins us to provide insight into the original Aramaic of the following passage: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 Join us! ------------------------- For more information on setting up a life coaching sessions, breathwork sessions, the men's mastermind group, or upcoming retreats, for or a loved one, email: thebigglow@gmail.com —————------------------------------ Sept. 5-7th The Big Glow Digital Detox & Breathwork Retreat with Brian & Annie Piergrossi (With Jacob Denson, Jeff Thogmartin, Will Franchot & Giovanni Piergrossi) http://bigglowdigitaldetox.eventbrite.com ————- These episodes are ad free. Support the Circle by Becoming a Member Here: http://patreon.thebigglow Or donate here to support: Venmo @thebigglow Cashapp: @brianpiergrossi Zelle: @thebigglow PayPal: @thebigglow ----------------------------------- Link to join us live Thursdays @ 7pm est & participate: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86072259630 More info on me: https://brianpiergrossi.com/ All previous episodes available on YouTube: http://youtube.com/thebigglow Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5cfcpsY6holfobAo0dWiSx ---------------------------- #daleallenhoffman #brianpiergrossi #christianmysticism #gnosticism #newage #quantumphysics #ecumenism #ecumenicalorderofchrist #mysticism #contemplativechristianity #nondualchristianity #contemplation #thomasmerton #stfrancisofassisi #stfrancisassisi #christiandeconstuction #thewaythetruththelife #fundamentalistchristianlty #thecircle

jesus christ father gospel circle hoffman aramaic

Biblical Marriage

god jesus christ father lord podcasts teach anchor hebrew application prov aramaic biblical marriage new american standard bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2025 24:22 Transcription Available

Aramaic Influence in the Hebrew Scripture

influence scripture jewish hebrew gentiles persian babylonians hebrew bible aramaic hebrew scriptures tanakh

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2025 53:40

Linguistic Threads Across Sacred Scrolls When we speak of the Hebrew Bible, many assume it was written exclusively in Hebrew. But the truth is far more textured—woven with threads of Aramaic that reflect not only linguistic evolution, but also the historical upheaval and cultural interaction that shaped the Jewish people. Aramaic was not merely a language of exile; it became a vessel through which Scripture was preserved, interpreted, and proclaimed.

When You Squint Your Eyes, You Can See God

Cross Word

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2025 31:13 Transcription Available

Send us a texta link to my web page https://www.bookclues.comA link to 4PM Media https://4pmmedia.com/What happens when God breaks out of the church walls we've confined Him to? Author Philip Martin invites us into this provocative question through his collection of Catholic short stories titled "Ephaphatha" – an Aramaic word meaning "be opened."Martin weaves together elements of Southern Gothic and magical realism to create stories where divine mercy and justice intersect with everyday life. Drawing from his experience as a Catholic theology teacher, he understands that while truth may be black and white, people are wonderfully complex. This complexity demands more than simple doctrinal statements – it requires stories that speak to the heart."Falsehood is not attractive," Martin observes during our conversation. "It might be comfortable, but it's not attractive." This insight drives his storytelling approach, one that recognizes today's young people as "fertile soil" thirsting for authentic truth rather than comfortable lies. Through tales of hands breaking through church walls, mysterious healings, and unexpected divine encounters, Martin creates narrative spaces where readers can experience what happens when God refuses to stay confined to Sunday mornings.The discussion extends beyond literature to explore the interconnection between truth, beauty, and goodness – transcendental qualities that have traditionally guided Christian understanding of reality. When truth is abandoned, beauty inevitably suffers as well. Conversely, beauty can serve as a powerful pathway back to truth, making aesthetically rich storytelling a particularly effective evangelistic tool in our visually-oriented culture.Listen now to discover how Catholic fiction speaks to modern hearts and minds through the timeless power of story. Whether you're interested in faith, literature, or simply compelling narratives, this conversation offers fresh perspectives on how stories can transform lives in ways straightforward facts never could.

god drawing catholic coma conversely see god aramaic falsehood southern gothic squint 4pm media

SNEAK PEEK! Support Team Study – The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 2

Nehemia's Wall Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 5:10

Watch the Sneak Peek of this Support Team Study - The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 2, Nehemia and Dr. Kim Phillips continue their conversation, showing us the power of multispectral imaging in recovering ancient texts, the names Jesus and … Continue reading → The post SNEAK PEEK! Support Team Study – The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 2 appeared first on Nehemia's Wall.

jesus christ study wall sneak peek jesus part aramaic dialect support team nehemia

Pastor Vera McEwen - Hannah's Lyric - God IS Listening- Ask Seek Knock

god love jesus christ living good news seek pastor thessalonians knock aramaic mcewen biblical hebrew

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 26:11

Did Jesus Have a Last Name? (Special Podcast Highlight)

The Patrick Madrid Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 1:22

Image via Joan Sutter / Shutterstock. Here’s the rundown from this great moment on The Patrick Madrid Show. So, a young caller named Ezra from Naperville, Illinois, jumps on the line and asks: “Um, hi, Mr. Madrid… Did Jesus ever have a last name?” Great question, Ezra! Patrick jumps in with his usual mix of smarts and warmth. Short answer: No, Jesus didn’t have a last name like we do today. Longer answer: Back in Jesus’ time, people were identified by who their dad was or where they were from. So instead of “Jesus Christ” like it’s a last name, He might’ve been called “Jesus bar Joseph” — which literally means “Jesus, son of Joseph.”(Bar means “son of” in Aramaic.)

jesus christ history bible teaching illinois madrid longer bar special podcast aramaic last name naperville podcast highlight

Welcome Back

god jesus christ father lord podcasts teach anchor ps hebrew application o lord aramaic new american standard bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 19:53 Transcription Available

Pastor Vera McEwen - Petition God Audaciously

god love jesus christ community living good news pastor thessalonians inspire petition aramaic mcewen biblical hebrew audaciously

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 23:17

Hebrew Voices #220 – The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 1

Nehemia's Wall Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 56:58

In this episode of Hebrew Voices #220 - The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 1, Nehemia brings back Dr. Kim Phillips to discuss Gospel texts written in a form of Aramaic very close to what Jesus would have spoken, the … Continue reading → The post Hebrew Voices #220 – The Aramaic Dialect of Jesus: Part 1 appeared first on Nehemia's Wall.

jesus christ gospel wall voices hebrew jesus part aramaic dialect nehemia

The Full Assurance of Faith: Hebrews 10:19-39 (Part 15)

The Biblical Roots Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 47:01

Send us a textThe last half of Hebrews 10 contains a bold and timely message: because of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice, believers now have full, confident access to God!This is a major turning point in the letter. After 9.5 chapters of deep theological teaching, the author of Hebrews pivots from doctrine to application. The message is bold and timely: because of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice, believers now have full, confident access to God. No longer restricted by an earthly temple or mediated by a human priest, we can draw near to God directly—boldly, sincerely, and with full assurance of faith. The author lays out a threefold exhortation: draw near to God, hold fast to our hope, and stir up one another to love and good works.AFFILIATE NOTE: I first studied biblical Hebrew remotely through the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies. If you're interested in learning Biblical Hebrew (or even Aramaic or Greek), check out their courses using the affiliate link below. It's a great way to deepen your understanding of God's Word!

god jesus christ greek hebrews new testament hebrew defending assurance endure hebrews 10 biblical studies aramaic faith hebrews solberg biblical hebrew biblical roots israel institute

Pastor Vera McEwen - An Extra Helping