When I was getting my Ph.D. in Computer Science, I had to take an oral exam where I was told to prove a mathematical theorem.  It was not the most natural task for me.  We look at the story of David and Goliath - and how a determined, faithful man was able to do something that must have surprised many of those around him.  We consider how putting full trust in God can enable us to do things we might otherwise not be able to do - and how it can empower us to find the life that God truly wants us to live.

We begin by looking at the somewhat scary birth of my wife Wendy's and mine first child.  Then, this advent, we look at the birth of Jesus.  In this podcast message, we consider Mary's song, from the Gospel of Luke, which praises God for the birth of Jesus and prophesies the important role that Jesus will play in humanity.

We look at the story of Ruth and how a young woman gives up any chance of a better life by moving back with her Jewish mother-in-law to Israel, a land that will hold her, Ruth, as a pagan and as inferior.  God rewards Ruth, however, for her love and courage.  We also look at my father's love of dogs, and a story about an apricot poodle that was left wandering after its owner died by herself in her house.

We look at Nazareth, both modern and ancient.  We consider why it was almost certainly a holy place.  We consider Jesus growing up in this tiny, backwater town - and how it must have influenced him.  We consider the prophesy of the Messiah from Nazareth, the savior who would help us listen to that "still, small voice" of God, as described to us in Hebrew Scripture.

When I was a boy, I picked citrus with Mexican migrant workers.  The men always looked after the boys.  I tell a few stories of their unearned protection, their unearned grace.  We look at the transition from the Old to the New Covenants, the suzerain contracts that God has made with his people.  We look at the movement from having a sense of debt to God to earning God's acceptance only through faith.  We also look at what this means in our everyday lives.

We look at the city and history of Jerusalem, from its ancient beginnings, several millennia ago, to the time of Christ, to now.  We consider the people who pilgrimaged there from all over the Roman Empire, so that they could visit God's city, and visit the home of God, the Temple.  We consider what this means to us today and to the nature and to future of our faith.

I was quite the kid gardener as a boy.  Once, I planted pumpkin seeds - a lot of them - in my parents' front yard.  It did not turn out well.  We look at the story of the withered fig tree, the money changers at the Temple, and the power of prayer.  We see what it has in common with the pumpkin seeds.  We see that Mark and Matthew tell different versions of the fig tree/money changers/prayer story - and we consider what this means.

I was once at the hospital, with an elderly man who was holding the hand of his dying wife.  He had been the founder of an electronics firm that made advanced computer components.  He said that computers were the most dangerous invention ever.  He expressed, in a more aggressive fashion, that our modern addiction to digital information, in the form of videos, web pages, social media, texts, etc., and our belief that Google can truly enlighten us, is leading us to a new age of Gnosticism.  We consider the history of Gnosticism, and what we need today to regain our natural, pure relationship with the true source of spiritual knowledge.

When I was a boy, someone stole a shotgun from a police car - and the only witnesses were kids who all described the thief very differently.  We use this as a sort of "negative" analogy and consider the four Gospels of Jesus and what we should think of their differing stories about Jesus, the way they differ in the order of events, and their somewhat different foci.  Is this a problem - or is this actually a good thing?

We look at two ancient prayers that are very similar - both are called "Creeds".  We consider why they were written, what they mean, and how they differ.  We look at the broader issue of differentiating mechanical beliefs from a deep seated, personal, holistic notion of faith and what it means to emulate Jesus.  We also consider a very large rat that was living in my garage.