Congratulations! You've just been given a lifetime of earnings from your boss. You have no instruction on what to do with it, only that he is going on a journey and will return. The money is yours to manage for him while he's gone. So what do you do? How does your opinion of your boss impact how hard you work while he's gone? The story of the talents in Matthew 25 leads us to a crisis of decision making. Who do we believe the master to be? And how does that impact what we do with what we've been given?

Sometimes the best way to teach a lesson is to use a physical example. Paul takes on this strategy by sending Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church in Philippi in order to show them a living example of what he's been trying to teach them in his letter. In Timothy we see someone who has a genuine care for others like no one else. In Epaphroditus we experience someone willing to go to the brink of death to fulfill the task God gives him. These two are not only examples to us of how we should care for others and give our lives to the gospel, but also challenge us to be living examples to others as well.

Sometimes the best way to teach a lesson is to use a physical example. Paul takes on this strategy by sending Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church in Philippi in order to show them a living example of what he's been trying to teach them in his letter. In Timothy we see someone who has a genuine care for others like no one else. In Epaphroditus we experience someone willing to go to the brink of death to fulfill the task God gives him. These two are not only examples to us of how we should care for others and give our lives to the gospel, but also challenge us to be living examples to others as well. 

Most of us recognize that when we damage something of someone else's, we should do something to make up for it. If I break something of yours, I should buy you a new one! But what if it was more significant than that? Do we recognize the spiritual implications of wronging our neighbor? The guilt offering requires not only repayment, but one fifth more and an offering to God for your guilt. It's a call to repay generously and to recognize that when we hurt something made for holiness, like another human, we owe God repayment as well. 

If my salvation isn't based on works, what does it mean to work out my salvation? The language Paul uses in Philippians challenges us to take responsibility for our spiritual growth journey. God ultimately works in us but we have to open ourselves up to Him. Once we do that, we can also accept the responsibility of helping others on their journey. In all of this God is at work for His good pleasure.

If my salvation isn't based on works, what does it mean to work out my salvation? The language Paul uses in Philippians challenges us to take responsibility for our spiritual growth journey. God ultimately works in us but we have to open ourselves up to Him. Once we do that, we can also accept the responsibility of helping others on their journey. In all of this God is at work for His good pleasure. 

Should unintentional sins even count? Often in our current context we tend to give passes for bad things that happen if the person who did them didn't mean to. However, this was not the case in ancient Israel. The point God wants to make to His people by asking for a sin or purification offering is that He takes their error or uncleanness seriously. His people were to be set apart to be images to the world of His glory and that glory could not be tarnished. Thankfully today although we still bear the image of God to the world, Jesus' blood has given us a permanent cleansing before God. 

Who is in charge of your life? This is the heart of Paul's teaching in the beginning of Philippians 2. Paul is challenging his readers to take on a Christ like humility. This humility looks like not acting out of selfish ambition, counting others more valuable than yourself, and looking to serve instead of being served. Jesus exemplified this in that although He was God, He did not try to grasp power, but instead served. In order to live in this kind of humility we must allow God to have His place as the ruler of our life. Out of that love we then will see others how He sees them.

Who is in charge of your life? This is the heart of Paul's teaching in the beginning of Philippians 2. Paul is challenging his readers to take on a Christ like humility. This humility looks like not acting out of selfish ambition, counting others more valuable than yourself, and looking to serve instead of being served. Jesus exemplified this in that although He was God, He did not try to grasp power, but instead served. In order to live in this kind of humility we must allow God to have His place as the ruler of our life. Out of that love we then will see others how He sees them. 

The biggest party in history, robot surgery, and goat demons. In this episode we get into all of it while discussing the peace offering in chapter 3 of Leviticus. From the time Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden, humans have experienced a lack of peace between themselves and God as well as with each other. Through the Peace Offering God attempts to set up a ceremony to fix that. Ultimately our peace today comes from Jesus who was the ultimate peace offering, but how did it work before Jesus? What type of ceremony could bridge the gap between God and his creation? It all includes an animal, a little fat, and a big party.