Podcasts about Last Battle

Sermon Summary: Temporary Residents, Eternal Home Chris's sermon this week delved into Genesis chapters 46 and 47, picking up the narrative of Jacob and his family's move to Egypt to escape the severe famine in Canaan. He structured his talk around six key "episodes" or scenes within these chapters, ultimately drawing out four significant takeaways for the congregation in Sheffield in 2025. Chris began by addressing the crucial question of relevance: how can a text written potentially 16-18 centuries before Jesus, set in a vastly different culture, speak to us today? His answer lies in the belief that the Bible is "God-breathed," inspired by God, who continues to speak through its pages to those who approach it with humility and an open heart. He emphasized the Bible's unique authority, stating that any teaching, including his own, should be disregarded if it contradicts scripture. Furthermore, Chris highlighted Romans 15:4, reminding listeners that the scriptures were written for our encouragement, hope, and perseverance in our Christian walk. Drawing a parallel to the London Marathon, he likened the Old Testament heroes of faith, including Jacob (mentioned in Hebrews 11), to a crowd of witnesses cheering us on in our own race of faith (Hebrews 12:1). Moving into the text, Chris outlined the six episodes: God appears to Jacob (Genesis 46): Despite being called to the Promised Land, God instructs Jacob to go to Egypt, a seemingly counterintuitive command. The journey to Egypt (Genesis 46): Jacob and his family undertake the journey. Reunion with Joseph (Genesis 46): Jacob is reunited with his son Joseph, whom he long believed to be dead. The brothers meet Pharaoh (Genesis 47:1-6): Joseph presents a delegation of his brothers to Pharaoh. They identify themselves as shepherds seeking temporary residence due to the famine. Chris noted their subservient tone ("We your servants") while also highlighting Joseph's prior coaching to secure their desired outcome. Pharaoh's response is directed to Joseph, granting them permission to settle in the land of Goshen and even offering positions managing his livestock if they possess special skills. Jacob meets Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10): Joseph then brings his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. In contrast to his sons, Jacob seems to possess a greater sense of authority, even blessing Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh inquires about Jacob's age ("How many are the days of the years of your life?"), to which Jacob replies that he has lived 130 "hard years" and that the "days of the years of my temporary residence are few and hard." Chris emphasized Jacob's use of "temporary residence" (or "sojourner" in some translations), a significant theme throughout the chapter. Despite his hardships (fleeing his brother, losing his mother and wife, believing Joseph dead), Jacob's encounter with Pharaoh reveals a man carrying moral authority. Joseph's leadership during the famine (Genesis 47:11-26): This lengthy section details Joseph's strategic management of the famine. He provides the best land of Egypt, the region of Ramesses (another name for Goshen), for his family. As the famine intensifies, Joseph collects all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, eventually moving to exchange livestock and then land and the people themselves for food, making them Pharaoh's slaves. The priests are the only exception, receiving direct provisions from Pharaoh. Joseph then establishes a system where the people receive seed to plant and keep four-fifths of the harvest, with one-fifth going to Pharaoh. The people express immense gratitude for Joseph saving their lives. Chris acknowledged the potentially unsettling nature of this narrative, where Pharaoh's wealth increases significantly. However, he pointed out that the Egyptians willingly entered these arrangements and were grateful for survival. He also noted that their situation as "slaves" differed significantly from typical understandings of slavery, as they continued to live on their land and retain 80% of their produce, a potentially lower tax burden than experienced today in the UK. Chris cautioned against a literal "lift and drop" application of Old Testament narratives, using the example of the hand-under-thigh oath later in the chapter as a practice no longer relevant. He stressed the importance of respectfully engaging with the text while discerning its enduring message. Jacob prepares to die (Genesis 47:27-31): The Israelites settle in Goshen, acquire property, become fruitful, and their population grows rapidly, fulfilling God's promise in Genesis 46:3 that they would be prosperous in Egypt. Jacob lives for another 17 years, reaching the age of 147. As his death approaches, he calls Joseph and makes him swear an oath (placing his hand under Jacob's thigh) not to bury him in Egypt but to take him back to Canaan to be buried with his ancestors. Joseph agrees and takes the oath. Chris highlighted the significance of being buried with his ancestors, noting the memorial in Hebron revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as the family grave of Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, and Jacob. He also pointed out that the hand-under-thigh oath was a family tradition, previously used by Abraham when sending a servant to find a wife for Isaac. Jacob's focus on being buried in the Promised Land underscores his deep connection to it. From this passage, Chris identified four key takeaways for the congregation: Depending on God: Chris found Jacob in his final chapters to be an "appealing and beautiful character," contrasting him with figures like Solomon who started well but finished poorly. Despite his past flaws and hardships, Jacob is "finishing well," which Chris attributed to his dependence on God. He affirmed that while we hold onto God, it is ultimately God who holds onto us. He referenced Lauren Daigle's song "Hold On To Me" in this context. Chris encouraged the congregation to have the "desire to finish well" in their own lives, noting that many around us do not. Do to others as you would like them to do to you: This "golden rule" of Jesus is reflected in the cycle of blessing within the narrative. Jacob blesses Pharaoh, and through Joseph, both the Egyptians and Jacob's family are blessed. Chris expressed his hope that the church's activities are a blessing to the local community and encouraged individuals to be a blessing in their families, workplaces, and among their neighbors. He then referenced Deuteronomy 23:7 (in some translations, this is Deuteronomy 23:7-8 or Deuteronomy 23:7), "You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt," noting its counter-cultural message in contemporary politics. Remember you are temporary residents: Chris drew attention to Peter's words in 1 Peter 2:11, "Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul." He connected this back to the potential reasons for Joseph choosing Goshen – to protect his family from the idolatrous Egyptian culture and the risk of assimilation. He emphasized the importance of identity: if we truly believe we belong to God, there are certain things we should avoid. Identity acts as a protection against temptation and evil, echoing Jesus' prayer, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13). Where is your true country?: Chris explored the legal concept of "domicile" – permanent home – contrasting it with "residence" and "citizenship." He posed the question: where is our true home as Christians? Like Jacob, we are temporary residents in this world; our true home is with God. He quoted Hebrews 13:14, "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." He concluded with a powerful quote from C.S. Lewis's The Last Battle, where a character entering heaven says, "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now."1 Chris shared that Karen had read this passage at Anne's funeral and expressed his hope that it would be read at his own, emphasizing the Christian understanding of our ultimate belonging in God's presence. Chris concluded with a prayer, thanking God for his mercy and love, acknowledging human failings, and expressing the desire to understand and embrace the truth of our eternal home in God. He then invited those who wished for prayer to come forward. Bible References: Genesis 46 Genesis 47 Romans 15:4 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12:1 1 Peter 2:11 Matthew 6:13 Hebrews 13:14 Deuteronomy 23:7 (or Deuteronomy 23:7-8 depending on translation) Transcript Let's wait for the PowerPoint to appear on the screen. Great, there it goes. So we're continuing with Genesis and continuing really where we were a fortnight ago with the move of Joseph and his family, or Joseph's already there, the move of Jacob and the family into Egypt. So a few things I want to do today. I'm going to kind of walk us through the chapter and bring a few things out, and then at the end I'm going to kind of identify, I think, four things that I think we can particularly take away from this chapter. And after I finish speaking, we're also going to have an opportunity for people who want to be prayed for to come forward and be prayed. I'm not going to make a big deal of that, but we do believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, and if you've come and you would like prayer, then we'd be more than delighted to pray for you and pray that you will encounter God. But before I get into the chapter, I just want to go on to the next slide, because that's quite important, isn't it? We've been spending all this time studying this chapter, and Genesis is set, and nobody's exactly sure when, but probably 16 to 18 centuries before Jesus was born. And it's set in a very different culture and part of the world. So how can that be relevant to us living in the UK in 2025? So that is a very important question. And I think that the start of the answer to that question comes from our understanding of what the Bible is, and that is that we believe that the Bible is inspired by God. Paul actually used the phrase, God breathes—that the Bible is God breathed. And that God speaks through his Bible to us, and he actually continues to speak today through his Bible to us. And that if we approach it with the right attitude, if we come to it humbly and respectfully, not looking to pick arguments with it, but open to any nourishment going, then God will meet us and speak to us through the Bible. And so that's why Genesis is relevant. We also say that the Bible has unique authority. If I as a preacher, or indeed any other preacher here or anywhere else, says something to you that is not in agreement with the Bible, then feel free. In fact, definitely ignore what is being said by me or any other preacher. The Bible has the final authority on difficult points. But there's also something, I think, when we're looking at these Old Testament stories, about recognizing that these were written to inspire us in our Christian walk. Romans 15, verse 4 says something like, the Scriptures were written so that for our encouragement and hope, and to encourage us to persevere in the Christian life. Today is the London Marathon Day, isn't it? And over the past 20 years or so, I spent quite a few times at the finishing line, not of marathons, I will admit, but the finishing line of Iron Man races, and waiting for family members and friends to run the race. And you always stop by, you know, runners, some of them looking completely done in, would kind of turn the corner and see the finishing line ahead of them, and also hear the crowd at that point all clapping and cheering and shouting. And they would kind of brighten and pick up pace and cross the line. And that's kind of the image that the writer to the Hebrews has. In Hebrews 11, there's a long list of Old Testament heroes of faith. And Jacob, who we're particularly thinking about today, is on that list. And at the end of it, the writer goes on, he says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. And it's almost like these Old Testament heroes, with all their difficulties in their lives, are part of the crowd that is cheering you and I on in our race. And so we do say that Genesis is very relevant. Let's just pray briefly. Father, we do just pray, Father, that the goodness that you've got for us in your Word, Lord, that we would receive that today, Lord. We don't want to miss out on any good thing that you've got for us in your Word for us today, and in fact, every day. Amen. Next slide. So, Genesis 46 and 47 are really part of one story. And you can remember about a fortnight ago, Andy took us through Genesis 46. I kind of divided it up into what I'm calling episodes, probably more like scenes, really. But episodes one, God appears to Jacob and says to him, I want you to go to Egypt. And that must have felt really odd, because he called to the Promised Land, and God is saying, No, I want you to go to Egypt. But nevertheless, God speaks to him. So that's episode one. Episode two is he journeys to Egypt. And episode three, he's reunited with a son he had long believed dead. He's reunited with Joseph. And then today we have episode four, a meeting with Pharaoh of the brothers, a delegation of brothers meet Pharaoh. Episode five, Jacob then himself meets Pharaoh. Episode six, quite a longer section, all about Joseph's leadership during the famine that is affecting Egypt at this time. And in the final episode there, Jacob prepares to die. So let me read the chapter. It's been, I think, necessary but still a shame as we've been going through Genesis. Time has just been a pressure to read the whole chapter, but we go off to a good start today, and I want to read it to us, because this is God's Word. This is God-breathed. Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen. Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh asked the brothers, What is your occupation? They replied, We your servants are shepherds, just like our ancestors. We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there, so please, we request permission to live in the land of Goshen. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen, and if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock too. Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. How old are you? Pharaoh asked him. Jacob replied, I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years, but my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court. So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt, the land of Ramesses, to his father and brothers, and he settled them there just as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided food for his father and his brother in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children. Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh's treasury. And when the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. Our money is gone, they cried, but please give us food or we will die before your very eyes. Joseph replied, since your money is gone, bring me livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock. So they brought their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food, in exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle and donkeys. Joseph provided them with food for another year. But that year ended and the next year they came again and they said, we cannot hide the truth from you, our Lord. Our money is gone and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give you but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We offer our land and ourselves as slaves to Pharaoh. Please give us grain so we may live and not die so the land does not become empty and desolate. So Joseph brought all the land, bought all the land of Pharaoh for Egypt and all the Egyptians sold in their fields because the famine was so severe and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he made them all slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Pharaoh so they didn't need to sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, look today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. Then when you harvest it, one fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths of seed for your fields and it's food for you, your households and your little ones. You have saved our lives, they exclaimed. May it please you my Lord to let us be Pharaoh's servants. Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on this land. Only land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh. Meanwhile the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, they were fruitful and their population grew rapidly. Jacob lived for 17 years after his arrival in Egypt so he lived 147 years in all. As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request. Do not bury me in Egypt. When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors. So Joseph promised, I will do as you ask. Swear that you will do it, Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed. Amen. So yes, if we can have that slide. Oh, can we go back to, can we go back a few slides to nearly the beginning? I think it's going to be the first couple of hours. Let's keep it back. That's it. So here we are in what I was calling episode four, and Joseph's taken a delegation of the brothers to meet Pharaoh. And we can probably picture the scene about, I mean, Pharaoh is the leader of a superpower. And they're really quite a small tribe from Canaan. And they are looking to be economic migrants. That's definitely what we call them today. They've come because there's no food left in their land, so they're coming as economic migrants. So it's kind of a subservient tone to it, isn't it? We're your servants, Pharaoh. But also kind of stressing things that they want. You know, we're shepherds. By the way, we've got flocks, but if you would let us stay for a while. And actually, at the end of the previous chapter, we see that actually Joseph had coached them to say this. Joseph was good at managing his boss, and he's prepared this. So this speech is important. Because, you know, this is a difficult moment. Pharaoh could have sent them away. So that's the first of the episodes. And you see that they're coming to live in Egypt for a while. So they're not saying, we're coming here to settle permanently. We're coming for a while. I'll mention that briefly, because that kind of phrase, for a while, or other versions of it, are quite important to this whole chapter. So I'm just picking out the first time it appears. Next slide. And this is interesting, actually, because you remember the brothers were speaking to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh's reply is addressed to Joseph. Now, you know, there's a couple of possibilities. One, of course, it's simply that Joseph is kind of the head of the delegation, isn't it? He's still the important guy. And so Pharaoh speaks to somebody of, you know, Joseph's number two in the land. So Pharaoh naturally speaks to him, not to the brothers. But it's also possible it might just be a side meeting. You know, in my career, I saw things like that. You know, somebody very senior would listen to what people had to say, and then have a kind of separate meeting with their inner group of most senior people and make a decision. And that's what kind of is happening here. Pharaoh is sitting down with his number two, and he's making a decision. And he's choosing to let them stay. And there's quite a mention of the word Goshen. I don't know if you picked that up as I was reading it, but Goshen, I think if you take the end of 46 and 47, it gets mentioned something like eight times, something like a lot of times. And Goshen is the place that Joseph has definitely engineered for them to be. So he's told them to go in Joseph. He's mentioned it to Pharaoh himself that they're already there. And then they've asked if they can stay in Goshen. So they definitely are after Goshen. And why is that? Well, I think at least three possibilities, or some mixture of them. One is simply that Joseph just thinks it's going to be a really good place for them and their flocks. So it can be as simple as that. The second possibility, though, is that Joseph is doing this in some ways to protect them. Because at this time, the kind of main center, the kind of equivalent of London, Egypt at that time, a place called Memphis. So Memphis is a big urban center with all the, so that's where the main stuff is happening. So Joseph doesn't want them in Memphis. He wants them kind of on the edge of the territory, and up in the kind of northeast corner of the Nile Delta is Goshen. And is he wanting them to protect them from the Egyptians to some extent? There have been hints, more than hints, actually, of prejudice of Egyptians towards Canaanites through the last couple of chapters. Egyptians didn't eat with Canaanites. Even Joseph didn't eat with them. And apparently they regard shepherds as pretty abominable. So they don't want to kind of mix with shepherds, because they're kind of sophisticated urban people. So is Joseph protecting them in that sense? And if that was right, he probably had seen something that is definitely there, because the whole book of Exodus is based on the fact that these Israelites end up getting very badly treated in Egypt. So, you know, racial prejudice is alive in this situation. I guess a third possibility is one that actually he wants to protect them from the Egyptians, but in a different sense. Does Joseph see that there's a risk of assimilation, that if they're just mingling in with all the Egyptians, that they will pick up Egyptian ways of life and Egyptian habits and start to live like Egyptians? They assimilate, and then they start worshiping Egyptian gods, and suddenly they're distinctive as the people of God has gone altogether. So it may be some mix of those factors. I'm not going to be too definite about it, because the Bible doesn't tell us. So it's conjecture to an extent, so I don't want to lay too much weight on that. But nevertheless, it's something like that that is going on. Next slide. And then we have Joseph brought in his father to see Pharaoh. And it's only because the tone of this one is slightly different, whereas the brothers were deeply respectful, kind of, you know, bowing and like that before Pharaoh. Jacob seems to carry a lot more authority in that situation. And that may be because he's given the respect due to an older man. It may be that, actually, Jacob carries some moral authority that somehow he's just present in the room when this is going on. There's also—not so much in this translation, but in some of the original language—that Jacob by this time has got some mobility issues, because it talks about Joseph bringing him in to see Pharaoh and then making him stand before Pharaoh. Now, you know, it might simply be that he's presenting him, but kind of sometimes I've seen in that that maybe actually Jacob had to be helped into the room and then helped to stand before Pharaoh. And then he has this conversation with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh says, How old are you? Again, the literal question that Pharaoh asked him is quite—Pharaoh says, How many are the days of the years of your life? How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob replies, The days of the years of my life—no, the days of the years of my temporary residence are few and hard. The days of the years of my life are 130 years, but they've been few and hard. And it's interesting that having been just asked, in a sense, for a number, he's introduced this phrase, temporary residence. And in some translations, you'll get that translated as sojourner. That's a kind of less common word these days, but it means temporary residence. And, you know, again, we heard that earlier, and one of the features of this chapter is that this thought of temporary residence is quite important to what this whole chapter is about. But Jacob blesses Pharaoh—in fact, he blesses Pharaoh twice. So he's not, in a sense, in a cringing situation. He's actually taking authority in the situation, and Pharaoh almost seems respectful of Jacob. You might think it odd to hear somebody who's 130 and whose son has become the number two in Egypt describe his days as being few and hard, but that is the expression that Jacob uses. And there's a lot in that, because if you think about Jacob's life, he undoubtedly had had a hard life. You know, he's had to run away from home while still quite a young man, immediately after his father's death, because otherwise he's at risk of being killed by his own brother. He had been particularly close to his mother, Rebekah, and he never sees her again. He gets tricked into an arranged marriage that proves unhappy, and he becomes the head of quite a dysfunctional family. The wife he deeply loved dies early in childbirth, and then the son that he's particularly close to he believes has been died, and he's lived with that belief for many years. So Jacob has had a hard life, but nevertheless there is something very beautiful, which I'll come back to, I think, about the Jacob we now see before us. Next slide. So, with the authority of Pharaoh, Joseph gives them the land in the region of Ramesses. Apparently that's just another word for Goshen, so it's the same place. And Joseph provides food for his father and his brother. Again, we see that Joseph is continuing to behave graciously in all this that he's had. He's been through very difficult episodes in his life directly at the hands of his brothers, but he's been continuing to behave graciously in this situation and providing for them all. Next one. And then the next section, which is actually the longest in the chapter, and you had me read it, really running from 13 to 26, is about the famine and what happens with the Egyptians during the famine. And that can strike us as a bit hard, because it's quite clear in all this, Pharaoh is getting very much wealthier. And so we can think, well, it's kind of not sure how I feel about that section. However, people who have kind of studied this deeply said, you know, first of all, you can see that the Egyptians are asking for this, and they seem very grateful. So what they're asking for is what Joseph gives them. He undoubtedly is responsible for saving perhaps even millions of lives, certainly many, many lives who are starving to death, and Joseph is instrumental in their being saved. And the end result for people who are being described as slaves doesn't sound much like slavery as we would understand it, because they're still living on their own farms, and they get to keep 80 percent of all that they grow and produce. So there's a kind of 20 percent flat rate tax and everything else is yours. Well, that's kind of probably not would have been your mind idea of what slavery would ordinarily look like. I mean, in this country today, I think the burden of taxation on people of average income is about 30 to 35 percent. So, you know, they're facing a much lower rate. Comparisons, of course. I don't suppose the NHS was up to much in Egypt. I don't suppose there was a state pension, so all the rest. But anything, just it's a little bit of an aside, but I think this kind of passage is helpful. I meant every word of what I said about the Bible being God's word and God speaking to us through it and about the authority of that word absolutely mean every word of that. But it doesn't mean that we lift and drop everything in the Old Testament and just say we take that on board. It doesn't mean that, say, the way in which Joseph managed that famine is instructive for us in how we might manage a situation today. There's another odd detail about a vow later in this chapter that you might have picked up about putting your hand under somebody's thigh while making a promise. We don't do that. There's a good reason. You know, it's not, so it's not lift and drop, but it is kind of hearing the voice of God and dealing with the passage respectfully. So that was a bit of an aside. Next slide. And the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen, and there they acquired property and were fruitful and their population grew rapidly. And you remember what I said at the beginning about the previous chapter and about what Andy preached about was it must have felt very, very strange, particularly to Jacob, when having been called to the Promised Land and believed that that's where they belonged to be told to go to Egypt. But in that, God had promised, and it's in chapter 46, I think it's verse 3, he said, I am calling you to Egypt and you will be prosperous there. And this is God keeping this promise, and that is a promise that we've seen at earlier points in Genesis. So this has all been part of God's plan. God's timing in the way that he works can frequently be deeply puzzling to us, because to an extent his ways are not our ways, but God is keeping his promises, and that's what this verse is about. Next. The time of his death do near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said, please do me this favor, put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me, and don't bury me in Egypt. Take me home and bury me with my ancestors. And it almost seems quite a formal little thing for a father and son discussion, but you sense behind it all that Jacob, this is very, very important to Jacob, so he's very insistent about it. He doesn't want there to be any misunderstanding. He doesn't want there to be any wriggle room that would mean that after his death something different would happen. He wants Joseph to understand very definitely that he intends to be buried with his ancestors in Egypt, in Canaan. Actually, if you know this, there's a memorial today in Hebron in the West Bank, which is honored by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, which is the family grave so people believe of Abraham and Isaac and Sarah and Rebekah and Jacob. So this is very important to him, and in this reference to putting your hand under his thigh, he's recalling a bit of family history because his grandfather Abraham had used that same particular formula when sending a servant out to find a wife for who's to be Jacob's father. So he is, and he's thinking about the promised land is what Jacob's thinking about. And as we think about the application of this to us today, we'll definitely come back to that thought. Let's have the next slide. So the first thing I think that we learn from Jacob is about depending on God. I do find Jacob in these last chapters to be a deeply appealing and beautiful character. You know, there are plenty of examples in the Bible, and indeed in church life, of people who have a good start or a good middle with God but finish badly. Solomon would be an example of that. You read the early years of Solomon and how he gets made king, and he says some glorious things, and you think it's absolutely wonderful. But by the time of his death, he was a shadow of the man of faith he'd been when he was younger. Jacob is finishing well. Yes, he's had some bad days. Yes, some of the problems of his dysfunctional family have been of his own making. Yes, he had often been deceitful. Yes, he did days when he felt completely hopeless and sometimes strikes us as being quite self-pitying. What does that tell you? It tells you he's like you and I. But he's finishing well. He's finishing well, and that's about depending on God. Of course, we depend on God. We hold on to God because God is holding on to us. But there is something beautiful. By the way, I love that. If you're familiar with the song Hold On To Me that Lauren Daigle thought, beautiful lyrics. Anyway, that's again an aside. Next slide. I don't think I've warned you this. There's going to be some C.S. Lewis. I think Jacob would have loved this. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep picking ourselves up each time. We shall, of course, be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the earring cupboard. It's a magnificent quote. But you get the sense of that's the kind of thing that Jacob's thinking. And it's beautiful, and it's about holding on to God. And I do hope you put that in your heart, the desire to finish well. There's plenty around of us who are not finishing well. Make that your life's work to finish well. Next one. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. That's, of course, the golden rule. That's Jesus. But we see in this chapter a kind of cycle of blessing. Jacob is blessing Pharaoh. And through Joseph, the Egyptians and Jacob are being blessed through the famine, through the work of Joseph. And the people of God are also being blessed, you know, treating others as you would like them to do. And I think it's great that we as a church, I hope that the things that we are doing as a church are a blessing to the community around us. You know, whether it's the library, the drop-in, the hub, whatever it is, I hope that we're a blessing to the community around us. I hope you're a blessing in your family and in your workplace and amongst your neighbors, called to be a blessing. But in this particular context, we can see actually that the Israelites did get this message. Let's look at the next verse, which is not one of the best known. You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I think quite a few political parties, that's never going to get on the manifesto, is it? But you know, it's important to treat others as you'd have them treat you. Next slide. Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul. Here we see Peter, and he's not the only one of these, Peter picking up on this temporary resident thing. And it becomes quite important in the New Testament, and both Peter and the book of Hebrews definitely on it big time. And you get something of what was possibly in Joseph's mind about the choice of Goshen. He's protecting them from this deeply idolatrous culture of the Egyptians. But you see, identity is important to that. You know, if you're living in a country, but you're not pretending to be there forever, there's some stuff you wouldn't get involved in, because actually that's not your long-term home. Some stuff you're not going to do. And there's something about who we are, who do we, if I really believe myself, I am, in Bob Dylan's words, the property of Jesus. If I belong to God, and if my future is with him, then there are some things that are dangerous to me that I ought to be avoiding. You know, Jesus prayed, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, because temptation and evil are very real things. But identity is one of the tools that we use that protect us from temptation and evil. Next one. Where is your true country? There's a concept in law, not only actually in English law, but it's in a number of other countries as well, including Nigeria, I believe, called domicile. And domicile means permanent home. And it's distinguished from, say, residence. Residence is the place you happen to be living. So if you're in the UK for more than six months, you're regarded as resident here. And citizenship is usually about, well, who gives you your passport? So it's about, you know, kind of legal status. But domicile meant something more like permanent home. It's actually probably the deeper of the concepts. And permanent home is something that also kind of sticks to you. So you could go and live abroad for 25 years and come back to the UK, and the UK would say, your domicile was always in this country because your strongest roots and who you felt yourself to be belong to this country. So domicile is about true home. And the very real sense in which, as Christians, we're saying, so where is my true home? Where do I truly belong? Do I understand and see myself to be in this world, as Jacob put it, as a temporary resident? But my true home is with God in hand. There's that difference from temporary residence today, true home and sense of belonging. And the writer of Hebrews says precisely that. Hebrews 13, verse 14-ish. Your permanent home is not in this life. Our permanent home is with God. And we'll have another C.S. Lewis quote. The last battle, I still think the last battle, although it's in a sense a children's book, it's still one of the best things written about the life everlasting. And I commend it to you. But this is a phrase when they've kind of got into heaven effectively, and someone says, I have come home at last. This is my real country. I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. And it's that sense of belonging to our true country. We are temporary residents here. We belong to Jesus. We belong to God's people. And our true country is yet to be. And actually, Karen read this at Anne's funeral, and I hope someone will read it at my funeral. So let's pray, and then I'll hand back to Steve, and we'll give an opportunity if you'd like to be prayed for. Father, we thank you for your great mercy and love, Lord, for all our feelings and shortcomings, for all our messed up-ness, for all the mistakes that we've made in our life. You are faithful, and we can depend on you because you are holding on to us. But Lord, we do want to understand the truth about things, Lord. We do want to receive your truth into our lives, Lord. We do want to know in our hearts where our true home is. Lord, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for all that lies ahead of us. The best is yet to be. We thank you for Jesus. Amen.

Send us a textOur God always has the LAST say!!  From the beginning of time, it was prophesied that the enemy would crush the Messiah's heel - but then in turn, HE would crush the enemy's head!! Paul taught the Corinthians that the last enemy that Jesus would destroy is death itself - for He has "put everything under his feet"!  HALLELUJAH!  Join us for a powerful Easter morning message, as we celebrate our victorious and living King!

A new MP3 sermon from Calvin Orthodox Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Last Battle Speaker: Michael L. Babcock Broadcaster: Calvin Orthodox Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 4/13/2025 Bible: Revelation 20:7-10 Length: 38 min.

April 11, 2025 ~ James David Dickson, Host of the Enjoyer Podcast, joins Kevin to discuss some of the revelations from the book “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.”

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”~Ephesians 1:18-19 “All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”~C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle “A faithful worship leader magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit by skillfully combining God's Word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, to cherish God's presence and to live for God's Glory.”~Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters  SERMON PASSAGEEphesians 1:3-14 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Power Politics, Premonitions & Heartbreak. In this week's episode Neil takes us to a place soaked in blood, the bleak landscape of Drumossie Moor. Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobite Rising & the devastating European conflict known as the ‘War of the Austrian Succession', all meet here in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden. To help support this channel & get exclusive videos every week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.comhttps://www.patreon.com/neiloliver Rumble site – Neil Oliver Officialhttps://rumble.com/c/c-6293844 Website:https://www.neiloliver.com Shop - check out my t-shirts, mugs & other channel merchandise:https://neil-oliver.creator-spring.com Instagram - NeilOliverLoveLetter:https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter Podcasts:Season 1: Neil Oliver's Love Letter To The British IslesSeason 2: Neil Oliver's Love Letter To The WorldAvailable on all the usual providershttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/neil-olivers-love-letter-to-the-british-isles #NeilOliver #BonniePrinceCharlie #BattleofCulloden #Jocobite #ghost #spirits #Scotland #England #Britishisles #ghosts #hauntings #history #neiloliverGBNews #travel #culture #ancient #historyfact #explore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new MP3 sermon from Calvin Orthodox Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Last Battle Subtitle: Revelation Speaker: Michael L. Babcock Broadcaster: Calvin Orthodox Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 3/16/2025 Bible: Revelation 19:17-21 Length: 38 min.

We're back to our Lesser-trod Histories series! This month, we are looking at the History of Middle-earth Volume 4, The Shaping of Middle-earth. Jude and Stef chat about the Dagor Dagorath (a.k.a. the Last Battle, or the Second Prophecy of Mandos) from its earliest stages in the Sketch of the Mythology through to the most recent version in The War of the Jewels. We discuss why a questionable Man is involved in slaying Arda's baddest baddie, and we discuss whether this story should have been included in the published Silmarillion. CitationsHistories Volume 4Tolkien, J. R. R. The Shaping of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 4. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1986. Histories Volume 10Tolkien, J. R. R. Morgoth's Ring. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 10. HarperCollins, London, 1993. Histories Volume 11Tolkien, J. R. R. War of the Jewels. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 11. HarperCollins, London, 1994. Histories Volume 12Tolkien, J. R. R. The Peoples of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 12. HarperCollins, London, 1996. The Silmarillion:Tolkien, J. R. R. The Silmarillion. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Apple Books edition.  (March 4, 2025)Tolkien And The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earthGarth, John. Tolkien And The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth. First Mariner Books edition 2005. eISBN 978-0-544-26372-7. V2.0519. (Accessed February 15, 2025)Upcoming eventsMarch 25, 2025: The Carrock Northern California Smail inaugural meeting is on Zoom on March 25 (Tolkien Reading Day) from 8:00–9:00 PM Pacific time. Find us on Bluesky: thecarrocksmial.bsky.social or Instagram: thecarrocksmial Link for our Google Sign-up form: https://tinyurl.com/TheCarrockSignUpFormJoin the Carrock Discord server: https://discord.gg/8DxzAhvPVnMay 9-11, 2025: Tolkien Society: Westmoot 2025Join Jude and Stef in Kansas City, Missouri, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westmoot-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)July 5-6, 2025: Tolkien Society: Seminar 2025 – ‘Arda's Entangled Bodies and Environments'Run by Will Sherwood, Clare Moore and Journee Cottonhttps://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/seminar-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)August 2-3, 2025: The Mythopoeic Society- Online MidSummer Seminar 2025: “More Perilous and Fair: Women and Gender in Mythopoeic Fantasy”: https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-04.htm (Accessed Feb 23, 2025)September 4-7, 2025: Tolkien Society: OxonmootJoin Jude and Stef at St. Anne's College, Oxford and online! https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

REGIONAL RASSLIN' BONUS EPISODE - A Dangerous Conversation with Gene Jackson interviewing "Wildfire' Tommy Rich & Doug Gilbert. The topic this week is the legendary feud between Rich & Buzz Sawyer!!! If you were a fan of Georgia Championship Wrestling in the early 80s, there was no feud more talked about or more memorable than Tommy "Wildfire" Rich vs. "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer.  As most folks know, this feud came to a head in a famous steel cage match that would be known as the "Last Battle of Atlanta".  The match is memorable for many reasons.  One of the reasons is the cage itself, it was unique in the fact that it was a steel cage that also had a chain link top that would go on to inspire the WWE's HELL IN A CELL cage years later.  It's also famous because for decades it was believed that no footage of this match existed, it was the holy grail of the pro wrestling tape traders from the VHS days into the DVD days.  But mostly it was memorable because it was an exclamation point on a violent and bloody feud that lasted over two years.  This week, Doug & Tommy discuss the feud with Buzz Sawyer and everything that led up to it, the match itself, and even a few things you may not remember that happened after it.  Check it out!Please Subscribe to our Patreon to help pay the bills, https://www.patreon.com/wrestlecopiaIncludes the $5 “All Access” Tier & $9 "VIP Superfan" Tier featuring our VIDEO CASTS, Patreon Watch-Along Series, our insanely detailed show notes (for the Grenade, Monday Warfare, Regional Rasslin, Puro Academy, & Retro Re-View), Early Show Releases! PLUS, monthly DIGITAL DOWNLOADS for your viewing and reading pleasure!WRESTLECOPIA MERCHANDISE - https://www.teepublic.com/user/wrestlecopiaVisit the WrestleCopia Podcast Network https://wrestlecopia.comFollow WrestleCopia on “X” (Formerly Twitter) @RasslinGrenadeFollow & LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE – https://www.facebook.com/RasslinGrenadeSubscribe to the WrestleCopia Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/RasslinGrenade ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Abstract: Intellectually acute, deeply learned, brilliantly imaginative, yet popular and easily accessible, C. S. Lewis was arguably the greatest Christian apologist of at least the past century. I believe that Latter-day Saints can benefit greatly from reading him and re-reading him and that those who are unfamiliar with his writing have an enviable treat awaiting […] The post Prepping for the Last Battle first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

The exciting finale. Face to face with a dragon and a Sorceress bent on revenge, can our heroes stop the Round Earthers?The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Kobalds, Stew, and Zealots. What a wacky world.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Attention, pixel pugilists and manga maniacs! Prepare to have your mind blown faster than you can say “Omae wa mou shindeiru” because Play Comics is about to unleash a Genesis gem that'll make your thumbs twitch with nostalgia. We're diving headfirst into the post-apocalyptic world of Last Battle, a game that's more thinly veiled than a sumo wrestler in a tutu when it comes to its connection to Fist of the North Star. Joining us on this journey through radioactive wastelands and questionable localization choices is none other than Chris Brown, animator extraordinaire and head of education at a cartoon museum. With his encyclopedic knowledge of all things animated, Chris will help us separate the wheat from the chaff, or in this case, the Kenshiro from the Aarzak. So grab your favorite energy-restoring meat, practice your best “ATATATATATA!” battle cry, and get ready to press start on an episode that's sure to leave you seeing pressure points. It's time to explore a game where the only thing more explosive than the gameplay is the spontaneous combustion of your enemies! Learn such things as: Why can't we just get the game to actually show what property it's based on? Should launch titles get a free pass at all? Why didn't we get an 80s action movie version of Fist of the North Star? And so much more! You can Chris on Instagram @chance_second, BlueSky @chancesecond, and of course his website Story of Chance. If you want to see why I'm acting like Twitter doesn't exist anymore, there's a video for that. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you're interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Escape the Mojoverse and The Monitor Tapes for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who is now worried about destroying the equipment with super powerful pokes. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomicsRead transcript

Piss Piss Bang Bang….I mean, follow your dreams kids….sorry, I am a bit drunk at this 5th grade graduation. Who wants to see heroes fight guards who are pissing? Go for it.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?

On the run from the great chittering hordes of claw and calamity, can our heroes solve a puzzle that no magic or brute force can overcome?Plus, the Dirks have a serious question to answer…and yes its both existential and erotic.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Sailor Noob is the podcast where a Sailor Moon superfan and a total noob go episode by episode through the original Sailor Moon series!The end of everything begins here as Galaxia casts her evil shadow across the Earth! Can the Sailor Senshi and the Sailor Starlights overcome their differences and face their foe or will darkness claim the galaxy?In this episode, we discuss '"johatsu" or disappearances, the cities of San'ya and Kamagasaki, and kamikakushi or "spirited away". We also talk about high steaks, DBZ as The Simpsons of anime, powerful ball magic, hopeless circus drunks, spontaneous harvesting, our first confirmed animal death, "dipping your Toei in", missing the meta, Scrappying it up, Ice cream flashbacks, Super Saiyan Galaxia, Macguffin hunts, Earth-chan, two-and-a-half feet of contrivance, Japan's Most Wanted, "night movers", Starboobs, trivia, Super Sailor Saturn, and longer ribbons!And we laughed and wept and so on.Give the gift of a Sailor Noob Patreon subscription this holiday season!https://www.patreon.com/sailornoob/giftWe're on iTunes and your listening platform of choice! Please subscribe and give us a rating and a review! Arigato gozaimasu!https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sailor-noob/id1486204787Leave us a comment on Spotify!Listen to our new podcast, Mona Lisa Overpod!https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mona-lisa-overpod--6195851Become a patron of the show and get access to our live-action PGSM, Animedification, Utena, Ghibli, and Evangelion podcasts!http://www.patreon.com/sailornoobPut Sailor Noob merch on your body!http://justenoughtrope.threadless.comSailor Noob is a part of the Just Enough Trope podcast network. Check out our other shows about your favorite pop culture topics and join our Discord!http://www.twitter.com/noob_sailorhttp://www.justenoughtrope.comhttp://www.instagram.com/noob_sailorhttps://discord.gg/TnsFZwDHBuy us a coffee on Ko-Fi!https://ko-fi.com/justenoughtrope

Podcast guest 1221 is Mike Dooley,  New York Times best-selling author, metaphysical teacher, and creator of Notes from the Universe, a popular email received daily by more than one million people. He was also one of the featured teachers in the movieThe Secret and has presented to live audiences in 156 cities across 42 countries. The Great Awakening https://amzn.to/4fwhbUI Mike's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MikeDooleyTUT Mike's website https://www.tut.com. CONTACT: Email: jeff@jeffmarapodcast.com WEBSITE www.jeffmarapodcast.com SOCIALS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffmarapodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffmarapodcast/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jeffmaraP/ JeffMara does not endorse any of his guests' products or services. The opinions of the guests may or may not reflect the opinions of the host.

Down in the catacombs our brave heroes face swarming hordes of ferocious fecundate foes. Plus, how many dirks is too many, and is Rosco's Achilles heal his vanity…I hope not.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Sitting Bull was born in Dakota Territory between 1831 and 1837, traditionally believed to be along the Yellowstone River in what is now Montana. At the age of fourteen, he joined his first war party and quickly earned a reputation for fearlessness in battle.

Dust to Dust, Dan Da Dan, DC-O-Rama: Metamorpho: The Element Man, The Atom Project, and Justice League Unlimited, Hirayasumi, Ain't No Grave, Mary Tyler Moorehawk, Deadpool/Wolverine, The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England, plus a whole mess more!

Having made it through the dark forest with the help of some dark and puzzling magic, our heroes find themselves before two ancient doorways…which one will lead them to their final confrontation with the rebels, and which will lead to certain doom.Also, there's more poop play than you would normally think.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Even the invincible Genghis Khan must face the inevitability of death. It holds no fear for him personally, but before he surrenders at last to oblivion, he needs to see two tasks through to the end: who will succeed him as Emperor of the World, and making sure an old enemy gets what has long been coming to them... Time Period Covered: 1220-1227 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan [Temüjin] (1162-1227) Börte Khatun (c.1161-c.1130) Yesui Khatun (d. ?) Jochi (1181-1226) Chagatai Khan (1183-1242) Ögedei Khan (c.1186-1241) Tolui (c.1191-1232) Xi Xia: Emperor Shenzong [Li Zuxun] (r. 1211-1223) Emperor Xianzong [Li Dewang] (r. 1223-1226) Emperor Mo [Li Xian] (r. 1226-1227) Empress Kurbelzhin (d. 1227) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Confronted by a powerful magical force, our heroes must keep their wits about them to find their way out of the Dark Forest and arrive one step closer to the Round Earth fortress. The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Another Lost Episode from November.  Hope you all enjoy.. 

What happens when our four heroes are beset by giant creatures that have abandoned the civility of man and embraced darkness and destruction? Plus, what does pendulous mean?The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

The final battle of good versus evil. We have arrived at this ultimate moment of triumph for Jesus and his campaign against sin, death, and spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly places. Join us for this exciting conversation!

In this conversation with Wang Kai Chun (Steven), a foreign policy advisor at the Legislative Yuan R.O.C. in Taiwan, we discussed Taiwan-U.S. relations, military preparedness, foreign policy, and the implications of a potential Trump presidency for Taiwan.Watch this episode on YouTube.

The war is over, but there's one more battle to be fought. Join four brave adventurers on their quest to stamp out the last vestige of an insane cult that view the earth as round.The Great War has ended. The terror and torment that touched the lives of nearly everyone in the land have ceased. The enemy vanquished, peace shall reign as it had for centuries prior.Amid the parades of victorious soldiers returning home after the long conflict the lord of the last major city at the edge of the land has summoned you for a meeting.As the confetti and streamers are scattered, and the celebratory wine flows, the Iron Duke has a mission for four would be heroes?Dungeon World: After the Last Battle isLeigh as Dirk SavageDavid as Gritta GrimhammerAlex as JeffCarl as Rosco Tinklechimesand Austin is your game masterMusic by Austin and Alex (not the one who plays Jeff)Dungeon World is a game by Sage Latorra and Adam Koebel

Comic Reviews: DC Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns 1 by Jeff Parker, Lukas Ketner, Marcelo Maiolo Black Canary: Best of the Best 1 by Tom King, Ryan Sook, Dave Stewart Justice League Unlimited 1 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain Marvel West Coast Avengers 1 by Gerry Duggan, Danny Kim, Arthur Hesli Marvel Unlimited Marvel Meow 24 by Nao Fuji It's Jeff 37 by Kelly Thompson, GuriHiru Dark Horse Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England 1 by Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck, Dave Stewart Welcome to the Maynard 1 by James Robinson, J. Bone, Ian Herring Image Hornsby and Halo 1 by Peter Tomasi, Peter Snejberg, John Kalisz Mad Cave Synap 1 by Chris Moses, Andrea Giannini, James Offredi OGN Countdown Timing/Luck by Gerry Duggan Flash Gordon Adventures by Art Baltazar, Franco, John Patrick Green Whatever Happened to Frankie King by Jay Neugeboren Heretic by Robbie Morrison, Charlie Adlard Additional Reviews: Savage Avengers Omnibus Once and Future Geiger Life of Pi First four issues of new DC webcomics Skeleton Crew ep 1 & 2 Orion and the Dark His Three Daughters Moana 2 Dear Santa News: Omninews, Sweetpea renewed, double-size Simpsons special coming to Disney+ in December Comics Countdown (27 November 2024): Absolute Wonder Woman 2 by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Jordie Bellaire Black Canary: Best of the Best 1 by Tom King, Ryan Sook, Dave Stewart Hyde Street 2 by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4 by Jason Aaron, Chris Burnham, Brian Reber Feral 8 by Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, Tone Rodriguez, Brad Simpson Superman 20 by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sanchez Welcome to the Maynard 1 by James Robinson, J. Bone, Ian Herring Justice League Unlimited 1 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain Hornsby and Halo 1 by Peter Tomasi, Peter Snejberg, John Kalisz Uncanny X-Men 6 by Gail Simone, Javier Garron, Matt Wilson  

Their crazy theories started a war….a war that's officially over.But there's one last battle to be fought before peace can return to the land.Four brave heroes must stop the Round-Earthers.With a bonus competition for you to guess which episode I edited while drunk.

Send us a textFather has reached godlike levels of power! Ed, Al, and their friends do their best to control the threat he poses to humanity. In the penultimate chapter of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, can the Elrics turn the tide? Tim and Patrick note that this chapter reminds us what this manga has always really been about.

Ready for the Last Battle of The Clone Wars? Wait WHAT?! Our favorite found family travel to salvage supplies from a old separatist freighter, but someone is there waiting for them. Poor Rex gets triggered and Ezra has a moment of realization. That's right, we are discussing The Star Wars Rebels episode "The Last Battle" (s3e6). Listen to hear what Stef and Chris have to say!

In this episode, Steve and Chris discuss the serialized story, GENERATION ZERO, from Marvel Comics' defunct Epic Comics flagship book, Epic Illustrated. A sci-fi story written by long-time comic industry luminary Archie Goodwin with painted art by the famed Spanish cartoonist, Pepe Moreno.Check out more of Pepe Moreno's art at https://pepemorenostudio.com/Support Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/ComicsRotYourBrainCheck out our website, www.comicsrotyourbrain.com0:00:00 - Music & Intro0:02:55 - Primer on Generation Zero0:07:26 - Contextualizing Contemporary Pop Culture0:17:35 - Moreno on his love of America0:20:46 - Praise of Archie Goodwin as Editor and Writer0:24:09 - Discussing Chapter One (Epic Illustrated 17)0:47:38 - The issues of Epic Illustrated that contain Generation Zero0:48:10 - Irony of the collected version by DC Comics 0:50:00 - Obscure nature of Generation Zero0:52:08 - Discussing Chapter Two (Epic Illustrated 18)1:05:18 - Discussing Chapter Three, "Desert Hunt" (Epic Illustrated 19)1:17:21 - Moreno's penchant of Suspect Page Design Readability1:24:40 - Discussion Chapter Four, "The Rat's Nest" (Epic Illustrated 20)1:27:00 - The Lived-In Detail to Moreno's Incredible Casablanca1:30:00 - Inexplicable Cybernetic Arm Non-continuity1:50:18 - Discussing Chapter Five, "Jungle Trail" (Epic Illustrated 21)1:55:48 - Yonomani Tribe makes an appearance?2:12:16 - Discussing Chapter Six, "Terror In Paradise" (Epic Illustrated 22)2:25:50 - Shock at the giant story reveal!2:26:55 - Discussing Chapter Seven, "The Last Battle" (Epic Illustrated 23)2:29:22 - Odd letdown of exposing the lingering mystery of Juan's father2:54:47 - Discussing Chapter Eight, "Face To Face" (Epic Illustrated 24)2:55:00 - The inappropriate nature of the cover art3:19:00 - Steve's Theory that there were supposed to a follow-up series3:27:00 - Talk about what made Epic Comics line so specialCopyright © 2024 Comics Rot Your BrainDrop us a line! + Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories #spaceopera #scifi

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Pastor Zack Flipse continues our series on the book of Esther with this sermon from Esther 8:1-9:17, “There Is No Last Battle.” —————————— More from Oostburg CRC Sermons: https://www.firstcrcoostburg.org/sermons Bible Study Resources: https://www.firstcrcoostburg.org/resources Original Music: https://open.spotify.com/album/4P7JbJlHzabPNW8GpdxKcB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJSouYxM1rwWZ4cYAvTIqVA

In June of 1783, British forces (not yet aware of the preliminary peace treaty that had been concluded in late 1782) attacked the Indian town of Cuddalore. The British besiege the city while a French fleet challenges a larger British fleet from control of the waters off the city. The British Commander, General James Stuart, finds himself fighting not only the French and Mysore, but also finds himself at odds with the British Governor who controlled the region for the East India Company. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Suffren Versus Hughes: War in the Indian Ocean 1781-1783, by Quinton Barry. Online Recommendation of the Week:  The Siege of Cuddalore (1783) https://www.ripublication.com/ijhss/ijhssv5n1_09.pdf Join American Revolution Podcast on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmRevPodcast Ask your American Revolution Podcast questions on Quora: https://amrevpod.quora.com Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271 Follow the podcast on Twitter @AmRevPodcast Join the podcast mail list: https://mailchi.mp/d3445a9cd244/american-revolution-podcast-by-michael-troy  ARP T-shirts and other merch: http://tee.pub/lic/AmRevPodcast Support this podcast on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AmRevPodcast or via PayPal http://paypal.me/AmRevPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

VISIT OUR SPONSORS The Louisiana Renaissance Festival https://www.larf.org/ The Ren List http://www.therenlist.com/ Happy To Be Coloring Pages https://happytobecoloring.justonemore.website/ RESCU https://rescu.org/ The Patrons of the Podcast https://www.patreon.com/RenFestPodcast SONGS Come 'n Be A Pirate performed by Crimson Pirates from the album Come 'n Be A Pirate www.crimsonpirates.com/ Welcome to Tortuga performed by Ye Banished Privateers from the album Songs and Curses www.yebanishedprivateers.com/ Hollywood Pirate performed by The Musical Blades from the album Pieces of Eight www.musicalblades.com Buccaneer Rap performed by Boogie Knights from the album Hysterically Inaccurate www.sites.google.com/site/boogieknightsmd/ A Drop of Nelson's Blood[1] performed by Captain Black Jack Murphy from the album Pogue Mahone Means Kiss My Arse www.irishsong.net/ Tall Ships performed by Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers from the album Sail Again www.tommason.net Skeleton Crew performed by Alestorm from the album Tales of the Black Dog www.alestorm.net/ Buccaneer performed by Library Bards from the album Bardcore www.librarybards.com Pirate's Love Song performed by Mallory & McCall from the album Kings of the Sea Went Sailing (Pirate Love Song) performed by Pirates Inc from the album Fools Gold www.facebook.com/WeArePiratesInc/ Blackbeard's Last Battle performed by Pair of Pirates from the album Not Playing with a Full Deck www.pairofpirates.com Buccaneer City performed by The Bilge Pumps from the album Greatest Hits Vol. VIII www.thebilgepumps.com/ Down Among the Dead Men[1] performed by Boom Pirates from the album Prepare To Be Boarded www.facebook.com/boompirates/ Derelict[2] performed by Captain John Stout from the album Songs From the Water's Edge disc 1 www.porterstout.com/ No Quarter Given[2] performed by Crossed Cannons from the album Skull And Crossed Cannons www.facebook.com/crossedcannons/ Pirate Song[1] performed by Dogs in Doublets from the album Dogs In Doublets Sing www.facebook.com/33276488067 The Beast Of Pirate's Bay performed by Voltaire from the album To the Bottom Of The Sea www.voltaire.net High Barbaree[2] performed by Bounding Main from the album Lost at Sea - Sea Shanties and Nautical Ballads www.boundingmain.com 20,000 Rubber Duckies performed by Henry Martin from the album Around the Bay Pirate Lullabye performed by Whiskey Bards from the album The Recruiter...Free Rum Ain't Free www.facebook.com/whiskeybards/ Dark Lady[9] performed by LandLoch'd from the album Whiskey'd Out to Sea www.landlochd.com Pirate Ship the Diamond performed by Majestic Reign from the album Renaissance Steel www.matthughesmusic.com Modern Pirates[1] performed by Barleyjuice from the album A Night At The Pub www.barleyjuice.com Wicked performed by The Jolly Rogers from the album Cutlass Cannon and Curves www.jollyrogerskc.com HOW TO CONTACT US Post it on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/renfestmusic Email us at renfestpodcast@gmail.com HOW TO LISTEN Patreon https://www.patreon.com/RenFestPodcast Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/renaissance-festival-podcast/id74073024 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/76uzuG0lRulhdjDCeufK15?si=obnUk_sUQnyzvvs3E_MV1g Pandora https://www.pandora.com/podcast/renaissance-festival-podcast/PC:1139 Listennotes http://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/renaissance-festival-podcast-minions-1Xd3YjQ7fWx/  

This week we conclude our search for the last battle on English soil with a trio of conflicts that all centre around the Stuart Dynasty, specifically James II. With Urban warfare, Irish Panic and artful men from Somerset all making an appearance it is also an unintentional summary of the downfall of the house of Stuart......Which we cover in reverse order to ensure that you are paying attention. And by the end we do promise that we will confirm which fight was in fact the last battle to ever be fought on English soil (to this point at least).Guest Host: Ollie Green Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on First Steps, we continue our "Star Wars: Rebels" Season 3 Journey! Episode 3 "The Holocrons of Fate" Episode 4 "The Antilles Extraction" Episode 5 "Hera's Heroes" Episode 6 "The Last Battle"

This week we are beginning a search for the last battle to be fought in England which, due to some disagreement about what actually constitutes a battle, could be one of at least six separate events which span the course of four separate centuries. In this first episode we are covering an accidental WWII mini-invasion, a mental health crisis that went way too far, and the many ramblings of Bonnie Prince Charlie. But were any of these actually battles? Tune in to find out if we will even need a part two!Guest Host: Ollie Green*Disclaimer - the host's views on Marmite are their own and should not be considered representative of Consistently Eccentric History. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're taking a break from the Last Battle to look back — and forward — using your fine, prime vintage questions in this extra-special, extra-long episode. Also, we decide who we'd f***, marry, and kill between Ishamael, Moghedien, and Asmodean (answers may surprise you).

A promotional clip of the Patreon Exclusive review of The Last Battle 1983. The full review can be found at www.patreon.com/20cgmedia for just £5 a month.This is joined by more reviews and bonus content about the podcasts and other projects.

A promotional clip of the Patreon Exclusive review of The Last Battle 1983. The full review can be found at www.patreon.com/20cgmedia for just £5 a month.This is joined by more reviews and bonus content about the podcasts and other projects.

After a four year hiatus, MLB celebrated Players' Weekend once again, allowing every player to show a little more personality on the field, whether by using customized bats and cleats to sharing stories harkening back to their childhood days of playing the game.Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman recap the highlights from Players' weekend in baseball including Bobby Witt Jr. hitting a home run with Backyard Baseball star Pablo Sanchez on his bat to Jazz Chisholm interacting with kids at the Little League Classic game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.Also on this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, the guys discussed if the Philadelphia Phillies found their groove back and are poised to stand-out as the best team in baseball. They then debate if the New York Mets next three series might be make or break for them and their postseason aspirations. Mintz and Shusterman then close the show by saying goodbye to the final Battle of the Bay in Oakland.2:59 - Players' Weekend recap4:44 - The sweeps16:29 - Warm fuzzy feeling from the Little League Classic21:41 - The Phillies getting their mojo back29:36 - Player of the weekend31:51 - Turbo mode recap39:56 - The last Battle of the Bay in OaklandSubscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

We're so close to the Last Battle proper! For ch. 35–36, we discuss Quadrutiary Characters, the Stupidest Faile Decision of All Time, the Second Yeeting of the Horn of Valere, the Last Map, and Unspeakable Broth Facts.

Send us a Text Message.Alain DeSaix fills in for Steven as Derek & he discuss the Raiders decision to start Gardner Minshew, reactions to week 2 of preseason, the last series between the A's & Giants in Oakland & Nicolas Cage staring as John Madden in a movie (00:58)-Hawk Tuah throwing the 1st pitch at a Mets game (09:42)-Raiders announce Gardner Minshew as the week 1 starter(41:16)-Preseason Week 2 Takeaways: Caleb Williams, Daniel Jones, Russell Wilson /Justin Fields & Drake Matye (01:01:09)-NFC South Preview (01:19:47)-Could Brandon Aiyuk be finally signed by this week? Maybe even tomorrow? (01:31:40)-College Football's AP Top 25 (01:42:27)-The Last Battle of the Bay Series in Oakland (01:53:45)-Nicolas Cage as John Madden?!Support the Show.

Giants writer for the SF Chronicle Susan Slusser joins Tom Tolbert & Adam Copeland to discuss the last Battle of the Bay seriesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know what was great? Those battle droids. The hijinks they got up to. The little gags they'd do. Their super serious boss... Sometimes I miss those guys.   What's that? You'll make me a deal? I can visit them again? But in exchange, I'll have to sit through another episode about precocious children getting up to hijinks (bad version)? Well... You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Filoni, but it's a deal. Support the show by going to Patreon.com/civilized! NEXT TIME: "The Wynkahthu Job," "An Inside Man," and "Visions and Voices" Show Notes Hosted by Rob Zacny (@RobZacny) Featuring Alicia Acampora (@ali_west), Austin Walker (@austin_walker), and Natalie Watson (@nataliewatson) Produced by Ricardo Contreras (@a_cado_appears) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Cover art by Xeecee (@xeeceevevo)    

The great finale is here... Lazo Major returns to wrap-up the final chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia. [Show Notes]

Dr. Christin Ditchfield-Lazo joins the gang for the beginning of the final Narnian Chronicle, The Last Battle. [Show Notes]