TEN FOOT POLE

The Beatitudes is one of Jesus’ most famous chats.  But what does it really mean? What does it mean for our lives as followers of Christ? Dive in with Pastor Lindsey and Pastor A.J., as we discuss justice and what these blessings mean for our lives. This is the Gospel lesson for Sunday, February 1, 2026.

Discussion Questions:

1.  Does the difference between “blessed are the poor” and “blessed are the poor in spirit” mean something different to you?

2. What difference does it make to say “happy” instead of “blessed”?

3. What does justice mean to you?

4. What do you think justice has to do with the Beatitudes?

5. What do you think Jesus thinks justice is?

6. What does this tell you about God?

This isn’t your grandmother’s Advent devotional. Advent After Dark’s final episode is a provocative, thoughtful, and surprisingly tender journey into the Bible’s most sensual book: Song of Songs. We unwrap a new layer of sacred desire, embodied spirituality, and poetic longing—inviting listeners to see scripture with fresh eyes and maybe blush a little along the way. It’s love poetry so lush it borders on scandalous. And yet, it’s right there in the Bible—celebrating bodies, consent, agency, and the fierce power of love.

Discussion Questions:

1. What emotions come up when you hear scripture described as erotic?

2. How does the incarnation shape your understanding of the human body?

3. How does this challenge or affirm your understanding of biblical relationships?

4. God is not mentioned once… Why is this here?

5. What does this tell us about God?

I feel like you can't have a study about sex and the Bible without diving into David and Bathsheba.  Dive into this story with us as we unpack sex, abuse of power, and murder in 2 Samuel 11:2-27 in our third part of our Advent After Dark study!

Discussion Questions:

1. How was this story told to you as a kid?

2. How was Bathsheba’s role portrayed in how you have heard this taught before?

3. Women: what were you taught about “tempting” men? Men what were you taught?

4 . Do you think there is an abuse of power in play?

5.  What are modern examples of this kind of abuse of power?

6. Do you see any redeeming qualities for David in this story?

7. What does this tell us about God?

Deuteronomy 22:13–21 is one of the Bible’s most disturbing passages about virginity, honor, and punishment—where a woman’s sexual history becomes a public trial, and her body is treated as evidence. For Advent After Dark: Unwrapping Sacred Smut, this text offers a raw lens into purity culture, patriarchy, and the weaponization of sexuality.

Discussion Questions:

1. What were you taught about sex and virginity growing up? Was the Bible used as justification? Was it different if you were male or female?

2. Do you think the church has done damage through what it has said (or not said) about sex?

3. What are important ethics to you around sex? Are they based in the Biblical narrative?

4. What should we be teaching about sex in the church?

5. How do you think Mary’s story is related to virginity and the value of women ascribed by these sexual purity laws?

6. What is a healthy sexuality to you? In light of Jesus Christ?

7. What does this tell us about God?

 Genesis 19:30–38 is one of the Bible’s most unsettling sex stories—Lot’s daughters, believing the world has ended, get their father drunk and sleep with him to preserve their family line. It’s a tale of desperation, incest, and survival, and it’s ripe for exploration in our first episode of Advent After Dark: Unwrapping Sacred Smut.

Discussion Questions:

1. What have you been taught about this story before?

2. What does consent mean to you? Is it the same for men and women? What is the consent issue(s) in this story?

3. Why do you think this story is included in the Biblical narrative?

4. Are there un-redeemable sins?

5. What does this tell us about God?

Before we begin our Advent After Dark series, let’s talk about the basics. What is sacred? What is profane? What do we put in these categories and how do they affect how we understand the world around us through our Biblical lens?  Pastor Kyle and Pastor A.J. ask these hard questions as we prepare for our Advent series.  Is sex inherently profane? Or is it a sacred gift from God? Dive in for this off the cuff episode!

Discussion Questions:

1. What is sacred to you?

2. Do you believe that there are more sacred parts of scripture than others?

3. Do you think the concept of what is “sacred” and “profane” is subjective?

4. How does the biblical mindset that we apply around sex apply to other aspects of life?

5. Can something be sacred and profane?

6. Does Jesus’ death and resurrection change what is sacred and profane?

7. What do we treat as profane that God has called sacred?

8. What does this tell us about God?

“Though nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast.” My favorite hymn, Canticle of Turning, lends some wisdom to unpacking our Luke Gospel text for this week.  Join Pastor Chris and Pastor A.J. in diving deeper! This is Luke 21:5-19 for Sunday, November 16, 2025. 

Discussion Questions:

1.  What are the fundamental words of wisdom that you experience in Christ?

2. Where do we fail to see our fellow humans as beloved children of God?

3. What does it mean to you to be “persecuted for the sake of Jesus?”

4. Is there a way to possibly explain God’s love in a way that everyone would understand?

5. What does this tell us about God?

We dive into what the concept of the resurrection even is.  Jesus is challenged by the Sadducees about seven brothers all marrying a woman.  In the resurrection, whose wife is she? Jesus’ response is like, “you are totally missing the whole point!”  Join Pastor Melissa and Pastor A.J. in talking about Luke 20:27-38 for Sunday, November 9th, 2025. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your working theology of the resurrection?

2. What matters in the end?

3. What does it mean to you to put your trust in God?

4. What do you think the meaning that Jesus is getting at as far as “family” goes?

5. What does this tell you about God?

Jesus gives blessings and woes in this Sermon on the Plain.  Some of the things Jesus calls to can make us uncomfortable.  Where do we see ourselves in Jesus’ words? Are we the wealthy being casted down? Or the lowly being lifted up? Join Pastor Laura and Pastor A.J. in talking about Luke 6:20-31 for All Saints Sunday. November 2nd, 2025. 

Discussion Questions:

1. Who does Jesus see?

2. Where have you heard the justification that “they will persecute you” in our world?

3. What part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain makes you uncomfortable?

4. What does “turn the other cheek” mean to you?

5. What does this tell us about God?

Welcome back to Ten Foot Pole Podcast with Season 5!  We are diving back into the Gospel of Luke until our Advent special series starts!  Join Pastor Allison Johnson and Pastor A.J. in talking about prayer.  Jesus tells a parable about a couple of guys praying.  Is one better than the other? Who? Is anyone’s prayers “better”? Let’s talk it out.  Luke 18:9-14 for Sunday, October 26, 2025, not Reformation. 

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you view the two praying in the temple?

2. What is the fault of the Pharisee? What is the fault of the tax collector?

3. When do you feel like the tax collector and when do you feel like the Pharisee?

4. Who do you think goes home justified?

5. What does this tell us about God and prayer?