Unbinding the Bible

This week's episode is the first in a series of 4 THROWBACK THURSDAY episodes (034, 035, 037, 038). These four episodes immediately preceded our study of the book of Revelation; and in large part, they were responsible for my decision to tackle Revelation in the first place! These four episodes go together, and they are central if we want to understand Jesus' purpose and his purpose for the church.

The following is a first-person narrative sermon I preached at our church Sunday May 1, 2022. It is my imaginative supposal of what the final night of Jesus' life might have been like for Peter as well as his eventual encounter with Jesus after his resurrection. I offer this sermon to you as an encouragement of the way that Jesus meets us at our worst with his grace and love. John mentions a charcoal fire in both chapter 18 and chapter 21 of his gospel, and I believe he does so quite intentionally. He's capturing something about the transforming nature of God's grace and he doesn't want anyone to miss it! 

From the sermon: "Jesus met me in the place of my most painful memory and turned it into the place of communion and welcome!"

In this episode, I'll read an article written by Joel Lawrence titled, "The Lion Who is the Lamb: Reflections on Revelation 5 in a Time of War." I plan to make several comments about Joel's insights and to connect them to what I believe is the church's failure to stand firm against the powers and authorities.

In this episode, we'll talk about what the resurrection of Jesus did to change the world, specifically how the church testifies to the resurrection by its communal life and practices. We'll touch on how the principalities and powers disrupt this calling and why it is that so few Christians seem to even be aware of this episode's topic.

In this episode, we'll look at Ephesians 4:17-32 to see Paul's logic regarding the church faithfully following the way of Christ and living out their status as God's new humanity. We'll talk about what this "new humanity" means and why it's so important for the church to grasp. This conversation is desperately needed in the church today and I hope you'll find it encouraging.

This episode is a sermon I preached Palm Sunday 2021. In Mark 11, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey while receiving acclamations of "Save us!" from the crowds. His way of salvation, though, is not what many people were expecting. When given the choice between Jesus and Barabbas (an insurrectionist), the people choose Barabbas as the one who more fully represents their ideals. And the challenge the church continually faces is deciding whether to follow the peaceful kingship of Jesus (displayed with palm branches) or the militant kingship of Caesar (displayed with swords through Pontius Pilate and embodied in Barabbas).

In this episode, we'll look at the big picture of Ephesians, specifically at how "THROUGH THE CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3:10). When the church, like Paul, embodies the pattern of Jesus in their communal life, they testify to the rulers and authorities that Jesus' ways of living are superior to theirs and that, in Christ, the rulers and authorities have been defeated. The church very well may need to hear this message more than anything else in the modern world.

In this episode, I'm simply going to read the book of Ephesians in its entirety. Paul has lots to say about the rulers and authorities as well as God's triumph over them in Christ and then how the church carries out that triumph in its communal life. Listening to Scripture read aloud and in large sections helps position us to best receive its message. And Ephesians has a beautiful message! You may want to listen to this episode more than once to get the flow of Paul's thought.

In this episode, we'll take a look at the similarities between the creation of the world in Genesis 1-2 and how Paul describes God's new creation people throughout the book of Ephesians. References to conquering the forces of chaos and building temples dominate both passages. And the importance for understanding this relationship cannot be stressed enough if the church wishes to faithfully witness to the victory God has won through Jesus Christ.

In this episode, I will read a chapter from Tim Gombis' book, The Drama of Ephesians, to help us understand the reality and the influence of the powers and rulers in our world. Tim's insights are succinct, clear, and invaluable, as he clears away the confusion surrounding this topic and provides practical and relatable examples of the way the powers and rulers wreak havoc in God's good world. 

Special thanks to Tim for the permission to read an entire chapter of his book on my podcast! Find The Drama of Ephesians at an independent bookstore and read it all the way through for yourself.