What happened when Moses sent spies into Canaan? What might our promised land look like? What keeps us from reaching it?

"This is why we can't have nice things" is based on Numbers 14:13-24

But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one, then the nations who have heard about you will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ And now, therefore, let the power of the LORD be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying,
‘The LORD is slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
to the third and the fourth generation.’
“Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Then the LORD said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked; nevertheless, as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Works Referenced

Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2019, Kindle edition. 

Dozeman, Thomas B. “The Book of Numbers.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Fox, Nili S. “Numbers.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Green, Miranda. “Inside the Largest Deregulatory Action in US History.” The Understory. February 18, 2026. https://atmos.earth/political-landscapes/inside-the-largest-deregulatory-action-in-us-history

Middle East Eye. “US and Israeli attack on Iran: At least 85 girls killed in strike on school.” February 28, 2026. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/least-24-girls-killed-us-strike-elementary-school-southern-iran

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Who did Jesus heal? How do we decide who to help? When do we need to reach out?

"Save the whales or save the seeds?" is based on Matthew 8:1-17

When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him, and there was a man with a skin disease who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately his skin disease was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Works Referenced

Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.

Layne, Tawnya. “Healing & Restoration.” Daily Ripple. February 12, 2026. https://dailyripple.substack.com/p/healing-and-restoration

McConaghy, Charlotte. Wild Dark Shore. New York City: Flatiron Books, 2025. Kindle edition

Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.

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What does it mean to be humbled? What's good about being humble? Why is humility sometimes elusive?

"Being humbled or being humble?" is based on Numbers 12

While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had indeed married a Cushite woman), and they said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth. Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words:
When there are prophets among you,
I the LORD make myself known to them in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.
Not so with my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
With him I speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles,
and he beholds the form of the LORD.
“Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
When the cloud went away from over the tent, Miriam’s skin had become diseased, as white as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam and saw that she was diseased. Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us for a sin that we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like one stillborn, whose flesh is half consumed when it comes out of its mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “O God, please heal her.” But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp for seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out on the march until Miriam had been brought in again. After that the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Works Referenced

Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2019, Kindle edition. 

Dor, Yonina. “From the Well in Midian to the Ba‘al of Peor.” In Leviticus and Numbers (Texts @ Contexts), edited by Athalya Brenner and Nicole Wilkinson Duran. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2013.

Dozeman, Thomas B. “The Book of Numbers.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Fox, Nili S. “Numbers.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

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Did Jesus sometimes talk like a comedian? What happens when we judge? What is the "Golden Rule?"

"Did Jesus sound like Jerry Seinfeld?" is based on Matthew 7:1-14

Works Referenced

Atkin, Emily. "Air pollution denial is now EPA policy." Heated. January 13, 2026. https://heated.world/p/air-pollution-denial-is-now-epa-policy

Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.

Castle, Cerise. "Off-Duty ICE Agent Killed a Black Man in Los Angeles. Why No Arrest?" Word in Black. January 9, 2026. https://wordinblack.com/2026/01/ice-agent-killed-black-man-los-angeles-why-no-arrest/

“Conservatives Say Renée Good Was Brainwashed By Bible Into Loving Thy Neighbor.” The Onion. January 15, 2026. https://theonion.com/conservatives-say-renee-good-was-brainwashed-by-bible-into-loving-thy-neighbor/

Dorgan, Michael. "Renee Good was shot 4 times, including in the head, fire report shows." Fox News. January 16, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/renee-good-shot-four-times-including-head-fire-report-shows

Kaur, Harmeet. “Word of the Week: Who gets called an ‘agitator’?” CNN. January 14, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/word-of-week-agitator-cec

Olmsted, Edith. “ICE Attacks Car Full of Kids, Leaving 6-Month-Old Baby Unconscious.” The New Republic. January 16, 2026. https://newrepublic.com/post/205376/ice-attack-car-kids-six-month-old-unconscious

Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.

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Is our society fair? What would make it fair? What is a jubilee year? 

"Will 2026 offer you a reset?" is based on Leviticus 25:1-12

The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a Sabbath for the LORD. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in their yield, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its Sabbath—you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you, for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.

“You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month—on the Day of Atonement—you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall not sow or reap the aftergrowth or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces.

Works Referenced

Gustine, Adam L. and José Humphreys. Ecosystems of Jubilee: economic ethics for the neighborhood. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2023. 

Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “The Book of Leviticus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Schwartz, Baruch J. “Leviticus.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

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Why talk about the teachings of Jesus at Christmastime? How do his teachings create stories? What stories are Jesus-followers writing in our community?

"No manger? No problem." is based on Matthew 6:14-24

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

“And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Works Referenced

Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.

Cooper, Elissa. "Better than Santa: what do we know about the real St. Nicholas?" Christianity Today, Vol. 56, No. 11 (December 2012): 69.

Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.

Smedes, Louis B. Quoted on BrainyQuote.com. Accessed December 19, 2025. https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/lewis-b-smedes-quotes

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (n.d). 3126 mamonás: Mammon, wealth, riches. In Bible Hub.com. Retrieved December 19, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3126.htm 

Zoba, Wendy Murray. "Reclaiming Santa." Christianity Today, Vol 44, No. 14 (December 4, 2000): 42-46.

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Is everything in the Bible equally relevant? Should we want to be holy? What does that mean?

"O Holy..." is based on Leviticus 19:1-19

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
“Speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the LORD your God.
“When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day, and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the LORD, and any such person shall be cut off from the people.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.
“You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
“You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood of your neighbor is at stake: I am the LORD.
“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.

Works Referenced

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Decision Magazine. November 2025. https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/issues/november-2025

Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “The Book of Leviticus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Schwartz, Baruch J. “Leviticus.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

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What makes you trust someone? How should you react to someone abusing their authority? Is nonviolence more powerful than violence?

"That time Jesus said not to swear" is based on Matthew 5:1-16 

Works Referenced

Beelman, Maud. “U.S. contractors reap the windfalls of post-war reconstruction.” International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. May 7, 2012. https://www.icij.org/investigations/windfalls-war/us-contractors-reap-windfalls-post-war-reconstruction-0/ 

Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.

Comstock, Lori. “Why are flags at half-staff today? Here's why flags remain lowered until Nov. 20 in PA, DE.” Delaware Online. November 18, 2025. https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2025/11/18/why-are-flags-at-half-mast-today-american-flags-half-staff-dick-cheney-funeral-shapiro-meyer-trump/87334166007/

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Article I Section 27. May 18, 1972. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/00/00.001..HTM

“Dick Cheney.” Wikipedia. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney

Goodman, Amy. “‘The Dark Side’: Dick Cheney’s Legacy from Iraq Invasion to U.S. Torture Program.” Democracy Now! November 4, 2025. https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/4/dick_cheney

Levine, Amy-Jill and Mark Zvi Brettler, editors. The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Kindle Edition. 

March on Harrisburg. “Declaration of Democracy.” November 17, 2025.

Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.

Saturday Night Live, season 12, episode 9. “The Honest Man.” Aired January 24, 1987 on NBC. (YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEtrT3E4vb8&t=20s) 

Smith, CK. “Faith under attack: More clergy arrested at ICE facility protest.” Salon. November 16, 2025. https://www.salon.com/2025/11/16/faith-under-attack-more-clergy-arrested-at-ice-facility-protest/

Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, Brown University. “Costs of War.” September 1, 2021. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/WarDeathToll.

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What makes something sacred? What is a worship space for? How do you encounter the divine?

"Creating a sacred space together" is based on Exodus 35:30-36:7

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; he has filled him with a divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and with every kind of skill, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of artistic craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and in fine linen or by a weaver—by any sort of skilled worker or designer.

“Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.”
Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work, and they received from Moses all the offerings that the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the skilled workers who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.

Works Referenced

Brueggemann, Walter. “Exodus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Dozeman, Thomas B. Exodus. (Eerdmans Critical Commentary). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Dozeman, Thomas B. “Exodus.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.

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What was the Sermon on the Mount? Are the Beatitudes commandments? Who was Jesus speaking to when he shared them?

"Jesus climbed a mountain, and you won't believe what happened next" is based on Matthew 5:1-16

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Works Referenced

Black, David (@rev.davidblack). Instagram post. October 24, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQNDw3zCd1f/ 

Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle Edition.

Guess, Josina. “The Chicago Pastor Who Confronted ICE in a Viral Photo.” Sojourners. October 23, 2025. https://sojo.net/articles/interview/chicago-pastor-who-confronted-ice-viral-photo

Jones, Terry. Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Handmade Films, 1979.

Kanno-Youngs, Zolan, Tim Balk, and Erica L. Green. "Bishop Asks Trump to ‘Have Mercy’ on Immigrants and Gay Children." The New York Times. January 21, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/us/politics/trump-bishop.html

Levine, Amy-Jill and Mark Zvi Brettler, editors. The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Kindle Edition.

Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle Edition.

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