Paul starts his letter to the Ephesians off with a statement that leads us right into the doctrine of election. Doctrine can be heavy stuff, but the rewards are worth the investment.  Join me as we grapple with some important questions that will hopefully lead us to a greater love and appreciation for all that God has done for us. 

Also, this episode will cover two tools I call "composition clues" that help you read the Bible, a brief overview of three ways to explain the doctrine of election, and a personalization of these verses that I hope will make these Scriptures seem like they are written directly to you....after all, they are.

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

It's season 2 and we're kicking off a study in Ephesians. In this introductory episode we will talk about verse 1 but also some important background information and contextual influences.  Verse 1 seems simple but there are important lessons packed into these few words. 

http://www.biblefortheordinarlife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

Jesus and a small group of his disciples are on the beach having breakfast and Jesus has a conversation with Peter. He asks him a question - three different times. Peter answers the same way each time and is distressed by the third time. What is the purpose of these three questions? Is there any significance of the word choices John records? We'll answer these questions and wrap up the final few verses of John's gospel in this episode.

http://biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

It's the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples following His resurrection. The disciples have fished all night and haven't caught a thing. Jesus, who they don't recognize, shows up on the shoreline and tells them to cast their nets on the right side of their boat.

I'm not so sure I would have been so quick to obey.

But the disciples do just that and reap a huge reward. John realizes it's Peter, Peter pulls "a Peter", and the disciples join Jesus for a breakfast of fresh fish and bread.

What lessons can we learn about obedience and recognizing Jesus' voice? Tune in to find out as we dig into the first half of chapter 21 in John's gospel. 

The Bible is for everyone.

Despite the testimony of his 10 closest friends, Thomas refuses to believe Jesus is alive unless he has first hand proof. Jesus, in his grace, provides him just that. Thomas responds appropriately - in worship!  But what about those of us who don't have the opportunity for first hand proof? What does Jesus say about those who believe without seeing? 

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

It's Sunday morning. Jesus died on Friday afternoon. Mary and several devoted women arrive at the tomb only to find the stone rolled away. Mary runs to get Peter and John and they arrive only to assume the worst - Jesus' body is gone! It must be stolen.  But in a beautiful scene of tenderness Jesus reveals himself to one specific person and gives that individual the job of telling the others - He's not missing. He's just as He intended to be - resurrected from the dead!

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

It's the crucifixion scene. John provides several interesting details unique to his gospel. In this episode we'll do some "page-flipping" as we connect Old Testament passages to Jesus' experience in crucifixion. We will also take some time to fill in details of this gruesome scene using the other gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  We will cover Messianic psalms, the first instance of Passover back in Exodus compared to the last Passover in the gospels and paint a full picture of who took care of Jesus' dead body.

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

Pilate faces a dilemma. He knew Jesus was innocent and the claims of His accusers were false. But he was forced to choose between condemning an innocent man and maintaining his good political standing with Caesar. It's a difficult section of scripture to study because of the brutality that Jesus suffers. In this episode we will go verse by verse through the first half of John chapter 19 and consider all the decisions Pilate needs to make. In the end we are left wondering, what decisions do we make when confronted with the choice - favor with God or favor with humans?

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.

Hypocrisy. Lies. False accusations. Mob mentality. And a close friend's repeated denial.

In the second half of John 18 Jesus will endure all of this and more. His "trial" has begun and it's a total farce. There are no legitimate charges and only two witnesses that lie. 

In this episode we'll follow John as he shifts back and forth from the scene with Peter and the scene with Jesus, finally ending with Pilate trying to release Jesus and the crowd wanting Barabbas instead. Along the way we'll fill in some gaps from other gospel writers.

Nestled in these verses is a fascinating conversation between Jesus and Pilate.  It boils down to the question of who Jesus is. Pilate, who flippantly  asks, "what is truth" does not recognize Jesus for who He truly is.  It's a similar question and response posed by the culture we live in. All of us will answer the question "who is Jesus".  We talk about the four possible answers to this question and consider our personal answer.

https://biblefortheordinarylife.com/

The Bible is for everyone.

The Garden of Gethsemane might be a familiar story but have you ever compared all four gospel writers accounts of this scene? It a crazy plot twist his disciples surely were not expecting, Jesus is confronted by a crowd coming with swords and clubs. In this episode will unpack how Jesus skillfully handles what He already knows is going to happen and grapple with the question of why God sometimes chooses not to intervene.  

https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

The Bible is for everyone.