This We Believe: Exploring the Essential Texts of the Christian Faith

On this special episode of This We Believe, we will be discussing why Churches have used lectionaries to structure their reading of the Bible, and how the lectionary invites us to encounter scripture in a way similar to that of the early Christians. If you are in a church that uses a Sunday lectionary, I encourage you to check out my new book From Word to Worship, which helps readers understand the connections between scripture, liturgy, and the seasons of the church. 

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

Within the proper boundaries, there is room for many different, non-contradictory, life-giving interpretations of any single passage of scripture. We conclude this season by exploring the various ways we can approach scripture directionally: upwards, downwards, across, into, through, and outward.

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

Interpreting scripture like the early Christians can seem like a free for all, where anyone can come up with whatever meaning they want. As it turns out, the early Christians had very firm boundaries for what constitutes proper reading of the Bible, but these boundaries actually enabled multiple, non-contradictory interpretations of individual passages. What are these boundaries, and how do they guide our reading today? 

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

The Bible is filled with symbols that appear and reappear throughout its various books. How can we draw connections between these symbols, how are these symbols fulfilled in Christ? How can our understanding of these symbols transform our physical encounters with God's creation?

Video of this episode available at: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve

Support the show

*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve

It is often said that the Bible is one dramatic story, but is it more than that? If the Bible is just a drama from Genesis to Revelation, doesn’t it seem to make the early parts of that story, the parts before the birth of Jesus, less important or unnecessary? This episode examines an early Christian approach to telling the story of the Bible centering on theophanies and sacred time.

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

How did the early Christians worship Jesus Christ in Church, and how was this worship impacted by what they read in scripture? How were they able to be guided by books like Leviticus as they structured their worship services? How does an understanding of Jesus fulfilling all of scripture change the way that we worship him at Church?

This episode examines how the early Church understood worship and liturgy in relationship to scripture.

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve

Is Jesus really present in all of the Old Testament, and if so, how is he present? Is it only in an indirect way, or something more immediate and direct? 

This episode discusses how the early Christians saw Jesus as both fulfilling all of Scripture and as really present in all of scripture, including the Old Testament. Jesus is not just foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but an active agent in many of its key stories. For instance, he speaks with Abraham under the tree of Mambre, and walks past Moses on Mount Sinai.

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*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

When we read the Bible, God draws us into Sacred Time, where we can experience the past and future events of scripture as if they are present to us. In this episode, find out how the early Christians understood sacred time, and how this impacted what how they read the Bible.

Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve/

Support the show

*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

video link: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve

Many of us are taught to read the Bible like we are going to therapy, mining scripture for passages that inspire us, or help us solve problems in our lives. Though there are strengths of this approach, therapeutic readings can tend to create a transactional relationship between us and God, and can prompt us to read our own wants and desires into the Bible.

This episode continues our critique of modern approaches to reading the Bible, paving the way for a return to ancient approaches to scripture.

Support the show

*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]

video feed: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeBelieve

Many of us are taught to read the Bible like historians. We read a passage, use the tools of academia to reconstruct its original context, then tease out morals and principles to help us in our current context. While this approach has many strengths, it also has some major weaknesses, as it can lead to elitist, unstable, unspiritual, and unbiblical interpretations.

This episode continues the first part of this season, where we discuss how the ways that we read the Bible are so different from the ways of the early church.

Support the show

*New Book* From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament https://a.co/d/02dKL9Ub

https://michaelniebauer.substack.com/
Twitter: @We_Believe_Pod
E-mail: [email protected]