The Alabaster Jar

The Bible is full of the stories of the often messy and complex people who encounter God and experience grace. Dr. Carol Kaminski joins Dr. Lynn Cohick for a discussion on reading the Old Testament scriptures as part of the larger narrative of God and his people. A seminary professor and author of numerous Bible studies, Carol shares her passion to help people understand the redemptive story of the Bible and to equip church leaders to teach the Bible. Explore the Old Testament resources available at https://www.casketempty.com/

Even though ministry is riddled with challenges and filled with difficulty, Mark and Tara Beth share their stories of finding hope in ministry. The Pastor's Table helps you embrace your ministry as a gift!In the 1st episode, Mark and Tara Beth talk about their journeys in ministry and why pastors need to gather and discuss the importance of theological integrity! Check out Dr. Mark Quanstrom’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience. SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.

The Old Testament teachings come alive in our conversation with Sandy Richter through her understanding of the ancient social and theological worlds. Decades of teaching experience bring her knowledge and scholarship to bear in the life of the church. Sandy invites us to connect the themes of the Old and New Testaments and rediscover the story of God dwelling amongst his people. She shares how scripture helps us develop a Biblical understanding of what it means to love God and be stewards of creation. Learn more about Sandy's work and purchase her books and studies here. Stream Sandy's course on Seminary Now here. Alabaster Jar listeners receive 30% off an individual subscription (monthly or annual) with code AJ30.

Biologist Dr. Kristen Page joins Lynn for a conversation on the wonders of creation. She invites us to explore the fictional worlds created by Tolkien and Lewis and discover how they invite us to become stewards of the world we live in. Lynn and Kristen discuss how we can recapture our sense of wonder through experiencing the beauty of what God has made. Purchase The Wonders of Creation: Learning Stewardship from Narnia and Middle Earth here.

Dr. Myrto Theocharous returns to the Alabaster Jar. She talks with Lynn about her journey into studying the Old Testament and how she was inspired to begin working with refugees and those impacted by human trafficking. She discusses how this experience prompted her to think more deeply about the relationship between being made in the image of God and how we speak about those who are marginalized in our calls to social action. Myrto walks us through Old Testament passages that reflect God's response to oppression and misuse of power and discusses how this can prompt us to demonstrate justice and hospitality in our world today. Learn more about Myrto and support her work here.

Dr. Myrto Theocharous joins Lynn for the conclusion of our 2022 Advent Series. Myrto takes us on a journey through the sights, smells and tastes of Christmas traditions in Greece. She shares her experiences with some of the beautiful ways that the people of God celebrate Christmas in Evangelical, Greek Orthodox and Coptic faith communities. Myrto and Lynn discuss Old Testament scriptures that point us toward the coming of Jesus. Learn more about Myrto here.

Award winning author, Amanda Bedzrah, returns to the podcast as we continue our Advent series. Amanda shares her memories of experiencing the warmth of community during Christmas in Nigeria. She describes the challenges and triumphs of adjusting to new communities and traditions since moving to London. God has called Amanda to launch a remarkable ministry blessing imprisoned women, and she shares with us the impact that practicing generosity has made in her own life and the faith of her children. Visit Amanda's Website to learn more and support her work: https://amandabedzrah.com/

Ireland has some of the most beautiful expressions of Christmas. Join Dr. Miriam O'Regan as she explains her experience growing up in Ireland from the food they ate to their special "women's Christmas." It's no joke! The day is called "Nollaig na mBan” and it is celebrated on January 6th as a way of saying thank you for all the many things the women did to make the holiday season special.

In our fast-paced consumeristic culture, waiting is difficult. That's one of the reasons Advent is so important. Advent at its core is about waiting. In this special episode, Tracey Bianchi talks with Lynn and Sareen about intentionally embracing the waiting and pausing present throughout the Advent season.

Invisibility persists throughout the Asian American story. Grace Ji-Sun Kim shares her experience as a Koren woman growing up Asian in the western world. On the one hand, xenophobia has long contributed to racism and discrimination toward Asian Americans. On the other hand, terms such as perpetual foreigner and honorific whites have been thrust upon Asian Americans, minimizing their plight with racism and erasing their experience as racial minorities. Grace Ji-Sun Kim shares this and more in her book "Invisible." The compounded effects of a patriarchal Asian culture and a marginalizing American culture are formidable, steadily removing the recognition of these women's lives, voices, and agency. Purchase Your Copy of Invisible - https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Theology-Experience-Asian-American/dp/1506470920 Read more on Grace's blog: https://gracek.substack.com/