Biblical Literacy Podcast

Mark Lanier interviews Dr. Michael Lloyd, the Principal of Wycliffe Hall at the University of Oxford. Watch as this fascinating banter as Mark and his guest reveal Dr. Lloyd's background, his spiritual path, and his theological ideas. Listen as he explains his current interest in the the problem of evil, including that which is caused by sinful man, and that which has no root in human behavior.

Mark continues his series: Finding the Old Testament in the Gospel of John. This week Mark taught on the passage of John 7:53 through 8:11. Not every version of the Bible has this story or this placement where Jesus interacts with the woman caught in adultery. The Scribes and Pharisees wanted Jesus to condemn her. Should we question if John authored this passage, we need to remember original manuscripts were hand-written and copied, so differences could occur. Discover the analogy of God’s finger writing the ten commandments for Moses and Jesus writing with His finger in the sand to the woman's accusers. Listen to Mark teach about ancient documents and the oldest known copies of secular manuscripts as compared to those of the Bible.

Mark continues the series: Reading the Old Testament Through the Gospel of John. This week’s lesson shares insights into John 6. In this passage, John wantsreaders to think about the Passover while he relays how Jesus fed the crowd from five barley loaves and 2 fishes. From the leftovers, He filled twelve baskets.John wants us to understand that Jesus is Moses on steroids. Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesussays don't work for manna but the bread of life. Listen to Mark talk about the one thing we must do to obtain eternal life: trust Jesus, the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is He who came down from heaven and gave His life for the world. Jesus is the bread of life.

The Biblical Literacy class today celebrated Mark’s birthday with a production drama of C.S. Lewis by Steven Fenley. Fenley shared Lewis’s thoughts of love, pain, and suffering through the dramatization of several of Lewis’s books.

Mark continued The Gospel of John series with a focus on getting into the mind of John as the author of John 5:2-16 -the healing of a crippled man on the sabbath. John is consistent throughout his writings to use spiritual feasts of the Jews to highlight specific details in Jesus’ life. This passage does not name which feast. Mark shows that nothing in the feasts, Bethesda, the pool, the Torah, or the five columns could ever bring healing and salvation. John used his writings to show us clearly who Jesus is, the only way to life everlasting.

Mission Sunday emphasis/focus. Listen first to Gordon Fort a missionary from the International Mission Board as he shares his testimony of God's promises at work in his life and others from all over the world who followed God in obedience to missions. God is moving in the world in an unprecedented way. Brent Johnson then teaches from Ephesians 4. We should all be on mission for God, called out to proclaim the excellencies of Him. God's gifts are given to glorify Him. Listen to Brent talk about using opportunities to share the excellence of God

Mark continued with his series: Finding the Old Testament in the Gospel of John with a focus on John 4:43-54. Do you ever struggle to untangle a Bible passage? An example is found in verses 43-45. Doesn't make sense? Confusing? Watch as Mark reviews this passage for context, sharing the experiences Jesus had in Jerusalem and Samaria, and how that influenced John’s writing. Various techniques Mark uses to dig deeper can help us untangle other Scripture passages that at first read may appear confusing.

Mark continued his series of Reading the Old Testament Through John by focusing on John 4: The Woman at the Well. This passage shows how Jesus' life experiences relate to us. Jesus was also man, thirsty and weary from the walking. The Samaritan woman at the well wasn't supposed to be drawing water in the heat of the day. Jews and Samaritans disliked each other, and yet Jesus engaged in conversation with her. He offered her Living water, which was freshwater, new springs of life that flow eternally and leads us to worship God in spirit and truth. Many from the village believed. Listen to Mark parallel Nicodemus's visit to Jesus and His journey with talking to the Samaritan woman. Do we cling to dead rituals instead of embracing Jesus?

Melvin Tinker, prolific author and Vicar of St. John Newland stops by from Hull England to share a type of Bible GPS. He examines whether certain numbers mentioned in the gospel of John contain hidden meanings.