In this episode Sean talks with Sandy about readings from the Song of Songs 2:8–13; Mark 7:1–5, 14–15, 21–23; and James 1:17–27. They talk about the spring time imagery in the Song's celebration of love, about Jesus' teaching on purity and defilement, and the practical wisdom of James.

The Bible Studies prepared for the 2022 Synod of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania on the theme 'Arise and Come With Me' can be found in .pdf form with study / reflection questions here.

Kyie and Fran discuss 1 Kings 8: (1, 6, 10-11), 22-30; 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20

We mention a video about the Solomon's Temple Construction;

an article by Walter Brueggemann in Sojourners

and Martin Wright's book The Dividing Wall: Ephesians and the Integrity of the Corpus Paulinum

Howard and Fran discuss 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14; Psalm 111 and Ephesians 5:15-20

We refer to Sally Douglas' latest book Jesus Sophia: Returning to Woman Wisdom in the Bible, Practice and Prayer

Howard refers to Sally Brown's comments in her essay on the Working Preacher site

Kylie welcomes two scholars of the Gospel and Letters of John, Catrin Williams (University of Wales Trinity St David, UK) and Alicia Myers (Campbell University Divinity School, US) to discuss John 6, and especially 6.35, 41–51. Delve into this episode for some framing for these five weeks on John 6, as well as the passage for this week. See also Alicia's contributions to working preacher on John 6.1–21 and John 6.24–35.

For more on the other readings for this week, see the episode for Pentecost 6 for Psalm 130. On 2 Sam 18, see Howard Wallace's lectionary blog.

We also mentioned Susan Hylen's book Imperfect Believers. Alicia Myers also has a commentary on John written for preachers, Reading John and 1, 2, 3 John, and edited with Bruce Schuchard, on John's use of Scripture, Abiding Words, including a chapter by Catrin Williams.

Howard and Robyn continue their discussion of David and Bathsheba in 2 Sam 11:26-12:13, then dive into Psalm 51 and John 6:24-35.

Those interested in preaching the David and Bathsheba story might like to listen to last week's episode and also look at the following further resources:

The Bloody Bible Podcast episode on "David's Entitlement"

Shiloh blog on this story by Princess O’Nika Auguste

This sermon on the text by Tanya Riches

Robyn Whitaker's book - Even the Devil Quotes Scripture which offers a reading of this story in the conclusion.

Howard and Robyn discuss 2 Sam 11:1-15; Psalm 14; and John 6:1-21.  We do a deep dive into the David and Bathsheba story but suggest preachers might like to look at the following further resources:

The Bloody Bible Podcast episode on "David's Entitlement"

Shiloh blog on this story by Princess O’Nika Auguste

This sermon on the text by Tanya Riches

Robyn Whitaker's book - Even the Devil Quotes Scripture which offers a reading of this story in the conclusion

Sean and Robyn discuss themes in 2 Samuel 7:1-14; Ephesians 2:11-22; and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56. 

In this week's conversation Monica and Sean talk about kings and their wives as they explore 2 Samuel 6:1–5, 12b–19 and Mark 6:14–29, stopping along the way to discuss the liturgical riches of Psalm 24 and the single sentence blessing of Ephesians 1:3–14.

Sally and Fran discuss 2 Sam 5:1-5;9-10; Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 and Mark 6:1-13

We mention Sally Douglas' The Church as Salt

Kylie speaks with guest Dr Janine Luttick of Australian Catholic University, author of the wonderful book: Jairus's Daughter and the Female Body in Mark (SBL Press, 2024). We speak about Psalm 130 and Mark 5.21–43, with a particular focus on the story of Jairus's daughter. Themes include: crying out of the depths, active waiting and hoping, God's presence in the midst of grief, Jesus restructuring families, children responding to the experience of Jesus, and more.