Commons Church Podcast

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
–2 Timothy 3:16–17

We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean?
We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other times they all seem so... human. And maybe this paradox is at heart what it means to be inspired. The meeting of the Divine and the human, the nexus of Creator and creativity, the space where all of our self is brought before God and blessed and made new.
In this series we want to talk about scripture and creativity. About gifting and community. About the Spirit of God that helps us become more ourselves.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
–2 Timothy 3:16–17

We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean?
We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other times they all seem so... human. And maybe this paradox is at heart what it means to be inspired. The meeting of the Divine and the human, the nexus of Creator and creativity, the space where all of our self is brought before God and blessed and made new.
In this series we want to talk about scripture and creativity. About gifting and community. About the Spirit of God that helps us become more ourselves.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
–2 Timothy 3:16–17

We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean?
We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other times they all seem so... human. And maybe this paradox is at heart what it means to be inspired. The meeting of the Divine and the human, the nexus of Creator and creativity, the space where all of our self is brought before God and blessed and made new.
In this series we want to talk about scripture and creativity. About gifting and community. About the Spirit of God that helps us become more ourselves.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
–2 Timothy 3:16–17

We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean?
We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other times they all seem so... human. And maybe this paradox is at heart what it means to be inspired. The meeting of the Divine and the human, the nexus of Creator and creativity, the space where all of our self is brought before God and blessed and made new.
In this series we want to talk about scripture and creativity. About gifting and community. About the Spirit of God that helps us become more ourselves.

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times?

Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we will find wisdom for all our anger.

Like, there’s a way to be angry that gets to the heart of the matter. And there’s
a creative force to our anger that can address injustice. And there is a need - yes, a need - to feel our anger all the way through so that it doesn’t become our worst enemy.

So let’s not be afraid to tackle anger in this series. Let’s sit quietly enough to listen to what’s going on inside of us and imagine a world where anger doesn’t need to be hidden but can be harnessed to bring about the renewal of all things.

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times?

Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we will find wisdom for all our anger.

Like, there’s a way to be angry that gets to the heart of the matter. And there’s
a creative force to our anger that can address injustice. And there is a need - yes, a need - to feel our anger all the way through so that it doesn’t become our worst enemy.

So let’s not be afraid to tackle anger in this series. Let’s sit quietly enough to listen to what’s going on inside of us and imagine a world where anger doesn’t need to be hidden but can be harnessed to bring about the renewal of all things.

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times?

Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we will find wisdom for all our anger.

Like, there’s a way to be angry that gets to the heart of the matter. And there’s
a creative force to our anger that can address injustice. And there is a need - yes, a need - to feel our anger all the way through so that it doesn’t become our worst enemy.

So let’s not be afraid to tackle anger in this series. Let’s sit quietly enough to listen to what’s going on inside of us and imagine a world where anger doesn’t need to be hidden but can be harnessed to bring about the renewal of all things.

It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.

It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.

It seems like we have a bit of a problem.
St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest.
The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm.
And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths were the enemies of their souls, he thought.
Which just means that long before the internet gave us a place to record and play back EVERY SINGLE word, long before social media gave us the platform to spew anonymous hatred, and long before we coined terms like “over- sharing” to describe our inability to keep quiet, we’ve had issues with our mouths.
So let’s open the text, and listen for a moment.