House of Learning Podcast

As part of our Go Deeper: the Bible series, we had a question and response time. Here's the questions we couldn't get to on Sunday... we've got ones about authors, translations, trust and tricky verses, all chatted through with some friendly fun!

We're back! At AJC we've been in 1 John, and there's a part we can't talk about on a Sunday... so we get to chat here. John talks about spiritual conflict, and how it's affecting the church, what it means for the believers, and how to test and determine who is on which side. Enjoy!

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This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

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There's so much conflict and division around an election season - in the church as well as the nation! How can we follow God's heart through the confusion and show people the way of Jesus in the chaos? Josh Butler has written an excellent book on that question, The Party Crasher. Coming out of his experiences and pressing into this challenge in his situations, there's loads of insight and practical help on how to apply Jesus and the Bible to our context. He joins us to talk about some of the big ideas, and we get to ask himi some of our follow-up questions

You can get The Party Crasher here

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

We wrestle to engage with God and find hope. Habakkuk left us a song, and connected is with a story to inspire faith. We're joined by Mike McGeoy, who has written a book of his story, and how he's discovered God speaking and engaging him in ordinary ways that have grown his faith and transformed his life. Is there more of God to pay attention to in our own story: something to to appreciate and a story to tell?

Mike's book is Is That You God: God is Always Speaking to Us...But Are We Really Listening?

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

After two laments and a litany of woes, Habakkuk bursts into a song of hope and praise... so how did he get there? This song captures some of how God has interacted with the prophet, grown him and taught him, and expanded his horizons so faith could find hope in the midst of darkness. If a song for us, to help us take the same journey, and find hope in time of need.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

Woe passages can make us nervous – after all, sometimes we're on the wrong side of a woe – but God is giving these woes to comfort and encourage. We're in the woe songs of Habakkuk. Each one gives insight into God's heart, and as we thing about how each context relates to ours, we can receive comfort and encouragement too...

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

Justice is a concept we are very confused about in our culture, and amidst all the options our city clamors about, God has something more. As God shows Habakkuk he cares about justice by explaining some specifics, it makes us pause to think about the framework we use. It's a big question, with a complex and nuanced answer... and we only scratch the surface! But it's a big conversation, so you''re invited to get excited about God growing you, and perhaps spotting your justice weak spot.

As we continue to learn from Habakkuk, Heather (our star therapist) joins us to talk about lamenting with others. How can we be priests, bringing God's presence into the pain of others, by our presence with them. Does biblical lament offer a framework to help us understand how to interact with the suffering and grieving? It seems like there's a connection – so we explore the practical implications...

Heather mentions the book Holy Listening, by Margaret Guenther

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

As Habakkuk continues to lament we're faced with questions like, "Does God use suffering?" "Do the righteous suffer with the unrighteous?" "Why is there suffering?" And, "How can a good God 'use' evil?" So, just a few light questions on this week's episode! There is purpose in suffering, but we have to ask some big questions to fit it into a healthy Christian perspective - something we're not good at, both as Americans and in the Western Church.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!

Have you ever found yourself wanting to cry out, "Why God?" Or to cry out a desperate need for God to help? That's the beginning of a lament. It's a massive part of people interacting with God throughout the Bible... but a really minor part of modern American prayer and worship. Habakkuk begins with a lament, so we talk about what it is, why it matters, and how to do it. It's a big deal, so we invite you to try it with us.

We reference a community exercise (grab a worksheet from us on Sunday of you want) - here are the common parts of a lament we talk through from this in the pod:

1. Address to God

Thanks for listening to this episode of the House of Learning podcast.

This podcast is produced by A Jesus Church in Portland, Oregon.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share with someone.

And if you have a question you’d like us to chat about, please let us know!