Jeremiah is a sad prophet. He has a lot to be sad about. By serving as prophet in the direct run up to the Exile, he was never going to have a lot of good news to report. The people are crying out for relief, but a long history of their own failings landed them in this position in the first place. When we find our selves wondering where God is in the midst of a world looking on the brink of collapse, we might call to mind the normal way that God moves in the world - through people heeding God's call.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every tell all documentary about a new religious movement takes a turn at some point. They all start out with a merry band of weirdos and misfits - folks who never feel like they belong anywhere else but finally find belonging. It's great. Eventually, it all turns dark when someone declares themselves perfect and a living god to be followed and served unquestioningly. Paul never does that step. He stay humble and even in his farewell address to his second in command, Timothy, call himself the foremost among sinners. That's part of why we can revere Paul because Paul doesn't revere Paul.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes, Jesus goes for shock value. You have to be willing to hate all your loved ones, get rid of all your property, and take up your cross. It's a lot. It's probably, partly, hyperbole, but still, it's a blunt statement on the nature of discipleship. God comes first. We live our lives with God as one priority among many - job, family, the grind daily life, our finances. That's not how Jesus lived, and this scripture about the cost of discipleship challenges us to live differently as well.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This scripture looks like social advice. Don't jump to the seat on honor until it's offered to you. Sure. However, there's more to it than that. It's not just about where you try to sit and, instead, is more about how important you think that you are. Don't think so highly of yourself that you automatically assume that honors should be coming your way, and don't see yourself as above others that you don't leave room for those that often get left behind.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Any time we hear about Jesus healing or doing anything else on the Sabbath, we have to recognize that he is breaking the Law. He keeps getting a reaction for it because it is truly and rightfully shocking to his original audience. The Old Testament spends a lot of time explaining that you should be willing to die rather than be prevented from living a holy, Law abiding life. Jesus keeps breaking the Law. He's making a bigger point about what sits beneath the Law as written, about what the Law is meant to teach us. We love God by following the Law, and we love neighbor through acts of kinds. We also love God, the most, by loving neighbor. If the two are in conflict, choose love.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sit through enough funerals, All Saints Day services, or Memorial Day events, and at some point, some one will remind you of the "Great Cloud of Witnesses." We often use this as a generic term for the saints that came before us. Their original context, in Hebrews, is far from generic. This cloud is specifically our faithful heroes of the Old Testament who went through a shocking amount of human suffering for the sake of God. The paragraphs leading setting up the celebration of the witnesses and our challenge to be like them are almost comically graphic in their descriptions of what these folks went to. The Great Cloud of Witnesses were folks who held God as their primary allegiance.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we picture a "religion" in our mind, we probably see ceremonies, special outfits, and specific traditions. We might call to find a Catholic Mass, a Jewish Passover seder, or a Muslim family breaking a fast together during Ramadan. In theory, we practice these rituals to connect us to God and each other - to help us down a journey of transformation. The religion is a set of practices to aid in a meaningful divine human relationship. Isaiah opens with a warning. Don't stop at the ritual piece. They don't mean anything if you don't continue to part of caring more for people because of your relationship with God.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before starting this episode, open up Google maps and punch in "storage units near me." In classic Internet parlance, the results may surprise you. They're massive and just about everywhere. We keep finding more stuff to put in them. Who doesn't like cool stuff? However, Jesus reminds us of a couple of things. One, we can't take it with us, and two, maybe we should focus on the things that we can take with us - our relationship with God and others. Additionally, could there be another use for all that money in God's kingdom somewhere? Who can say?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

God's innate goodness is one of Christianity's core tenets. We agree. We named this show the Goodness of God. However, God is not a vending machine or a bad version of Santa Claus. It's not just insert a prayer and get out your desired result. Things we pray for don't come to pass. Things that we pray against happen. So, we have to zoom out and dig deeper into the goodness of God.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Human life pulls us in a lot of directions. Our culture values the right grindset. Social media companies hope that you never rest and just keep clicking away. We can hear the story of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and see it as wildly unrealistic. Get back to work, Mary! While we can't let go of every responsibility, we can be more intentional in seeking God in the midst of it all and limiting what pulls us away.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.