First Reading

First Reading

By Rev. Rachel Wrenn, PhD; Rosy Kandathil, JD; Paul Essah, MDiv; Tim McNinch, PhDReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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First Reading episodes

  • Genesis 28:10–19a
    God is in this Place!

    Lectionary Date: July 19, 2020 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

    On the run, Jacob has a dream with words from God.

    17 min
  • Genesis 25:19–34
    Family Drama

    Lectionary Date: July 12, 2020 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

    Warring brothers jostle for advantage, with a divine birthright in the balance.

    14 min
  • Genesis 24:34–38, 42–49, 58–67
    Cooperating with Divine Providence

    Lectionary Date: July 5, 2020 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

    Abraham's story isn't quite done: we need to find a wife for the miracle child, Isaac.

    12 min
  • Genesis 22:1–14, with Ethan Schwartz
    Invitation to an Experience

    Lectionary Date: June 28, 2020 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

    To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life—a great fit with our goals here at "First Reading"! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: "Torah: Deuteronomy's Version of Wisdom for Israel" and "The Red Heifer in Synagogue: Purifying Israel from Sin," or his essay at MyJewishLearning.com: "Eshet Manoah: Mother of the Mighty Samson."

    43 min
  • Genesis 21:8–21
    God Hears those on the Margins

    Lectionary Date: June 21, 2020 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]

    The story shifts from Abraham and Sarah to an unlikely hero: Hagar.

    15 min
  • Genesis 1:1–2:4a
    Beginnings

    Lectionary Date: June 7, 2020 [Trinity Sunday, Year A]

    Tim tackles a few preaching pitfalls, and gives some preaching angles on the opening text of the big book.

    16 min
  • Numbers 11:24–30, with Reed Carlson
    Another Outpouring of the Spirit

    Lectionary Date: May 31, 2020 [Day of Pentecost, Year A]

    For this Pentecost episode, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Reed Carlson. Reed is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and in Gettysburg, PA. He is also an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church and has Pentecostal roots, so he’s the perfect person to be talking to today! He earned his ThD at Harvard University, and his scholarly and church-ly interests include spirit possession in the Bible and how it relates to similar phenomena in the Global South, and ecumenism, especially among charismatic and progressive Christians. We recommend to you his article “Hannah at Pentecost: On Recognizing Spirit Phenomena in Early Jewish Literature,” published in the Journal of Pentecostal Theology.

    47 min
  • Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35
    God's Victory in a Time of Death

    Lectionary Date: May 24, 2020 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year A]

    This week, Rachel opens up a psalm of praise—with some cautions about its war-talk.

    17 min
  • Psalm 66:8–20
    Psalm of Thanks

    Lectionary Date: May 17, 2020 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year A]

    This week, Tim traces some of the contours of a thanksgiving psalm.

    18 min

About First Reading

From the publisher's feed

First Reading offers exegetical resources for the Old Testament Lectionary reading each week. Dr. Rachel Wrenn is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Capital…