Have you ever looked at the world around you—or even at your own life—and quietly wondered, “Is God always fair?” 

When we read ancient biblical stories about entire cities being wiped out by fire and brimstone, or when we face unexpected, undeserved heartbreaks in our own lives, it is easy to feel like justice is blind, harsh, or completely random. Our story today, one of the most terrifying tales of divine judgment in the Bible, was written to answer that very question. “Is God always fair?” 

In this episode we will step directly into the smoke and burning asphalt of Sodom. We will look beyond the simple children’s stories of Abraham’s bold bartering with God and Lot’s harrowing rescue out the city gates. When we do, we will discover a raw, ancient story which still answers our deepest contemporary questions about divine justice, human frailty, and God’s priority for mercy. 

Whether you are struggling with the idea of a God of judgment, or trying to make sense of your personal unwarranted suffering this episode is for you. 

Just a quick note: due to the historical realities of the text, today's episode contains some mature themes and adult content, so you may want to use headphones if little ears are nearby. 

Timestamps 

00:00 Podcast standard intro

02:13 God reveals his plans for Sodom

16:05 God investigates Sodom

27:07 God rescues Lot and destroys Sodom

35:32 Incest in the cave

40:14 Final comments 

Now, join me in the Judean hills, where God makes a bombshell announcement to Abraham; and Abraham then confronts God with a question which still reverberates in thinking minds today.

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

Where is the most important point in a story? In the beginning? At the climax? During the resolution? In ancient literature, the most important point was often in the very center.

Ancient writers frequently used a skillful writing technique called chiastic structure. In this form, the second half of the story mirrored the first half, but in reverse order. Each half of the story converged on that all-important central point.

In this episode, we come to Genesis 17, the dramatic epicenter of Abraham’s life story. God appears to him, changes his name, tells him to mark his body by circumcision, and promises to bring a new baby boy from his wife’s barren womb. He will do it within one year. Then with those dramatic words God makes a dramatic exit. He simply vanishes.

The title of this episode is Marked at the Middle: When God reorders your identity and guarantees your future. This reflects the middle of Abraham’s life story, the middle of Abraham’s body, and the middle of Abraham’s identity. But this episode is not just about an ancient writing technique, or a personal story from long ago. God also wants to meet you and me right in the middle of our life, in the home of our secret thoughts and deepest motivations. He wants to reorder our identity and guarantee our future. The apostle Paul refers to this when he challenges us to be circumcised in the heart.

Time Stamps

00:00 Opening Comments

02:39 God announces his everlasting covenant

09:48 Literary Structure of the Abraham Story

12:42 Circumcision: Marked at the middle

23:48 Birth of Isaac Announced

36:08 Final Comments

Join me in this episode as we discover how we too can be marked at the middle.

Resource

 Blog Post showing the chiastic structure of the Abraham story

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Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

Why does God seem to move so slowly? You pray, you trust, and you continue waiting—but the answer never seems to come. In those long seasons of silence, it's easy to wonder, has God forgotten me? Should I just take matters into my own hands? 

Today we explore Genesis 15–16, where Abram and Sarai model two very different responses to God's delay. Abram brings his questions honestly to God and discovers that God is not threatened by sincere doubt. Instead, He strengthens Abram's faith through powerful signs and promises. Sarai, however, can no longer bear the weight of waiting. She devises her own solution but only succeeds in making a mess of her life and all those around her. 

What do these ancient stories teach us about waiting for God to show up? How can we trust God's timing when His delay seems impossible to understand?  

Join me as we discover why when God keeps you waiting, your best response is to keep waiting. 

Timestamps

• 02:05 How to Wait for God
• 20:25 How NOT to Wait for God
• 35:44 What to Do While You Wait (Practical tips to draw near to God) 

Make sure to stay with me until the end when we will discuss what to do while you wait. I want to share some practical tips from my own experience showing how we can draw closer to God through these waiting seasons. 

Resources 

Psalms to pray to God while you wait

• Psalms that ask, “How Long?”  Psalm 6, 13, 74, 79, 89 
• Psalms that encourage you to wait for the LORD. Psalm 27, 33, 37, 40, 46, 62, 130

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

What does it take to live a life that truly matters?

In this special release, we examine this question as we take a metaphorical mountain climb through Psalm 90, a remarkable ancient prayer of Moses. As we reach the summit of our journey we confront the cold, hard truth: life is brief, and then we die. The Journey doesn’t end at the summit, however, On the way down the mountain we discover that God’s endless nature and our fleeting days is the exact wisdom we need to live a deeply meaningful, worthy life.

Timestamps
01:21 Introduction
05:20 Safe Home of Our Endless God
08:51 The Restricted Path of Our Absolute God
10:52 Exposed Slopes of Our Angry God
13:19 The Cold Summit: Life Is Brief, Then We Die
15:24 Exposed Slopes of Our Angry God (2)
17:53 The Restricted Path of Our Absolute God (2)
25:03 Safe Home of Our Endless God (2)
28:35 Final Comments

Listen and discover how your brief life can become a lasting legacy when lived in union with our endless God.

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

Some decisions are truly life-altering. A high-stakes choice made under severe threat, intense pressure, and high uncertainty. How do we face such a crisis decision?

In our episode, today, Abram and Lot, billionaires within the context of their ancient world, face just such a choice. Their massive herds of livestock were pushing the land to its absolute breaking point. They had to split up their operation in order to survive. Lot chose life in the fertile plain of the Jordan, prioritizing economic prosperity and security. He could not foresee the geopolitical trap and spiritual nightmare which lay ahead as he moved his herds toward Sodom. Meanwhile, Abram took a faith-first approach. He chose to remain in the land God had promised, even though life in the rugged highlands was much more difficult, unlocking divine protection and global blessing.

Timestamps:

02:45 Abram and Lot’s Crisis Decision

13:02 Consequences of that decision

22:28 The Meaning of the Story

Listen, as we explore the historical, geographical, and theological background of this remarkable story. We consider how the author of Genesis intended this story to serve as a critical pastoral warning to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and how it provides a clear blueprint for making Godly choices in our own modern crises.

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

Abraham was always a flawless giant of faith, wasn’t he? The biblical reality is far more shocking. 

Abraham’s story begins, not with heroic faith in one creator God, but with pagan beliefs within a culture of moon worship, a barren marriage, fear, failure, and a future that seemed impossible. Yet God’s plan for Abraham never depended on Abraham’s worthiness—it depended entirely on God’s grace.

In this episode we explore the remarkably messy beginning of Abraham’s journey, God’s astonishing promises, his first steps of obedience, and his surprising failure in Egypt that previews the future story of the Israelite nation. Throughout, God remained faithful to his promises

Timestamps

• 01:59 — Abraham’s Background
• 10:07 — God’s Call to Abraham
• 14:24 — Abraham’s Faith
• 19:44 — Abraham’s Fear

If you have ever wondered whether your weaknesses, doubts, or past mistakes can disqualify you from God’s purposes, this episode offers profound encouragement and hope.

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

What if the problem of the Tower of Babel was never really about architecture?

In this episode we explore how this story in Genesis 11, along with the preceding ethnography in chapter 10, work together to demonstrate both the unity and rebellion of humanity. Far from being ancient filler, these chapters reveal the roots of human disunity as well as our united attempt to build life apart from God. We can understand the self-sufficient ambition of those ancient architects who wished to make a name for themselves when we confront the same unpleasant reflection in our own life. The spirit of Babel lives on.

At Pentecost, however, God reversed his judgment at Babel. He gave us his Holy Spirit as the solution to our prideful rebellion, inviting all nations and languages to join in one mission and lift one voice together in praise of him whose name rises over all.

Timestamps
01:56 The Table of Nations
11:25 The Tower of Babel
20:12 The Meaning of the Tower of Babel
25:05 Revisiting Babel
33:39 Final Comments 

For a summary chart of Genesis 1-11, see this blog post

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Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

What if the new beginning after the flood wasn’t as new as it seemed? 

In Genesis 9, Noah and his family step out into a cleansed world—but not with a cleansed heart. In this episode, we explore how God responds to persistent human sin with both blessing and restraint. You’ll discover how Noah functions as a kind of second Adam, how God’s covenant with humanity provides stability in a broken world, how the rainbow is a sign of peace, and what the disturbing story of Noah’s drunken nakedness and Ham’s dishonor reveals about the ongoing corruption of the human heart. This episode does not simply explain the world after the ancient flood. It illuminates the struggles we still face with sin, justice, and shame, and points forward to the only solution God ultimately provides.

Timepoints
04:25 God blesses Noah and his family
11:32 God establishes a Covenant with mankind
17:18 Humanity’s continued heart problem
20:35 Issues raised by this uncomfortable story
32:41 Final Comments

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

In this episode, at the very heart of one of the most familiar stories in the Bile, we find a single, easily overlooked line: “God remembered Noah.” It is easy to miss, but if you understand how the story is written, you understand that it is the central point in the whole story. 

Today, we are not simply retelling the flood story—you’ve heard it before. We will uncover the literary structure of the text itself, a carefully crafted design that ancient readers would have recognized immediately, but we could completely miss.

Why does that matter? Because the central point of Noah’s story is also the central point of yours. If you ever felt like God was keeping his distance from you. If you ever struggled with waiting for God, wondering if He was truly active in your life, then this episode is for you.

Timestamps
01:57 Structure of the flood story
10:24 The Central Point: God Remembers Noah
13:30 God remembers his people just as He promised
15:49 God remembers his people even while they wait
17:59 God remembers his people with intentional strength
20:23 God remembers his people through both the ups and downs of life
23:13 Final Comments 

To see the chiastic structure of the flood story, as described in this episode, see this blog post

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Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.

Today we take a thought-provoking journey through one of the Bible’s most debated stories. Genesis 6 begins with the sons of God marrying the daughters of humans, resulting in the Nephilim. It continues with God’s resolve to judge all humanity except Noah and his family. This strange story of mysterious beings, ancient giants, and a great flood has provoked intense debate for more than two millennia. We will slow down, trace the logic of the text, weigh the major interpretations, and seek to understand what the author of Genesis intended his original audience to see. No easy answers. Along the way, we will uncover how this ancient text challenges us concerning our own struggles with boundaries, choices, and moral character.

Timestamps
01:59 Rebellion. Who are the sons of God?
 20:20 Judgment…and Grace
 26:35 Preparation for the flood
 
 

Send me your comments or questions. I would love to hear from you.

Episodes released every two weeks on Monday

Musical excerpts from "Pour le Piano"  by Claude Debussy (Public Domain) performed by your host.