Jesus At 2am - A Humorous, Intelligent Look At The Bible, Church History & The Life Of Faith

Few controversies have raised more ire and ugliness in the contemporary church than the debate about the place (or lack thereof) of homosexual relationships within the community of faith (and the larger culture). And at the center of that debate are Paul's words in Romans 1:18-32. In this episode we examine this highly charged passage - what Paul intended and how it both does and does not speak to the arguments the church is having today. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 1:18-32 (NRSV) Also referenced is Mike Regele's book, Science, Scripture and Same Sex Love. Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"Paul, a slave of King Jesus, called to be an appointed messenger, set apart for the announcing of the news of God’s victory." With these words Paul opened his letter to the church at Rome and set the course of Christian theology. In this episode we examine Paul's letter opening in light of the literary conventions of his day and how he both adheres to cultural norms and radically transforms our understanding of the world around us. We also discover the mind of a genius and the heart of a saint.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 1:1-17 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

In this episode we look not at Paul, but at the city to which he wrote - the capital of the greatest empire the world had ever known. It was a time of stability and strength and Rome was in the mood to make promises - not least the promises of justice, glory and peace (the Pax Romana). If only one would pledge loyalty to the empire, the benefits would be manifold. It's to the center of this world that Paul will write to declare a new kingdom - one with similar promises and competing loyalties.  The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 1:7 (NRSV) To see the images referenced in the sermon, click the title: Statue Base reading "SPQR" The Roman Forum at Dusk An Artist's Reconstruction of the Roman Forum Ara Pacis   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

We are all familiar with nativity scenes- Mary and Joseph tend to the infant Jesus as animals and shepherds look on, and in the distance we see traveling magi, bearing their gifts, following a star... It's a peaceful scene filled with both love and wonder. And it bears some resemblance to the biblical story. But the birth of Jesus is a fundamentally disruptive event that stirs both the cosmic and political orders, and brings hidden truths to light. And revelation is a powerful thing... The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Matt. 2:1:12 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We all have seasons in life in which we are waiting...: Waiting on the next chapter to unfold, waiting something to make sense...waiting for God to take action! The wait can be excruciating at times, especially when we feel that God is silent. In this episode we look at what to do in those moments - namely the Jesuit practice of "contemplating" scripture, a means by which we learn to hear God's word to US. Want more on the contemplation stuff? Find it in my Loving God 101 series, parts 11 and 12.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Luke 2:21-35 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We all carry an picture of God - his power, nature, "personality"... Mine was, for many years, an academic one, formed with the Latin words of the long-dead philosophers we studied in school. And that image did great things for my GPA! Until, one day, that same picture rendered me useless to a scared, 6-yr-old cancer patient. As she saw it, cancer was proof of God's anger. When I said, "I don't think God is like that." She said, "Then what is God like...?" And it has taken me 20-years to find my answer.  The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Luke 2:8-20 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Amidst the wait for God's salvation, one can begin to doubt that it will ever come. Perhaps we have believed in vain? Or trusted in a promise that will not be fulfilled? I think the thought crosses the mind of every person of faith. So where do we go when we need assurance? Where do we look for signs of God's present love? In this episode we examine one poet's answer in the form of Psalm 139. It turns out to be quite persuasive....   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Psalm 139 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Advent is a pensive season, a time of active reflection on our need for a savior. And that reflection on a needful world can, at times, lead to the false conclusion that the true life of faith is one of mild depression - sharing the pain of the world with only a distant hope of redemption. But that is not God's intent! There is much joy to be found even in a broken creation and in this episode we examine one poet's experience of it - a psalm of blessing and rejoicing in a God who is presently saving! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Psalm 103 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Peace is an endangered species. From the violence of war, to our conflicted politics, to the internal battle for rest and quiet within our self, peace feels more elusive than ever. And in quest to find it, to have it, we are tempted to believe that the way to peace inwardly is to first establish peace outwardly. When the chaos and hostility have been tamed out there, I can finally rest in my soul. When in fact the opposite is true. Peace out there begins with peace in me. And that peace comes only from God. In this episode we look into one of the Bible's greatest visions of peace and gain a sense of the shalom that God intends for his creation. And as we study, we find ourselves being shaped by the words themselves, in such a way that when we have slowed ourselves and read the poem (Ps. 23), we often find that we have become more peaceful. It is a wonderful look at the power of scripture to both inform and transform the human soul. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Psalm 23 (NRSV)  Want to

Hope is essential to a life of love. But it can be hard to come by, especially when so much that matters to us is outside of our control. In this episode we look honestly at the difficulty of hope and how we regain it. In particular, we turn to the psalms (a constant guide to connection with God), and how one Hebrew poet found his way back to comfort and assurance in the goodness of God. If you'd like to read the e-mail sent to the Canvas congregation about the practice of the daily office, just CLICK HERE. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Psalm 33 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We have already witnessed a radical transformation in Paul - from zealous persecutor of the church to faithful Christian. But there is more to come. Paul is called by God to be an apostle (lit. "a sent one"), not to his fellow Jews, but specifically to the Gentile world. It is a mission that revolutionizes his theology, and reveals for him a depth of God's salvation he could never have otherwise imagined. In this episode we examine the Gentile mission and its essential role in the saving of the world.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Ephesians 3:1-13 (NRSV) To see the map referenced in the sermon, CLICK HERE.   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

How does one go from being the church's greatest persecutor to its greatest advocate? The short answer, in Paul's own words, is: grace. In this episode, we examine this most central theme in Paul's theology. What exactly is "grace"? How do we experience it? And is it a new development in God's character, or has the God of Israel been demonstrating grace all along? If you've ever sought a deeper understanding of the Christian conception of grace, this is the episode for you. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Gal. 1:11-17 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The letter to the church at Rome - essentially a treatise on the saving work of God across history - is the Apostle Paul's magnum opus and one of the great works of Western literature. It is so profound in its insight and broad in application that we are tempted to read it apart from its context. But it is the work of a very human author, whose internal and external life must be understood. In this prologue to Romans, we meet Paul, the once notorious Saul of Tarsus - zealot and Pharisee.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Acts 7:54-8:1 (NRSV) Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

One of the most difficult elements of the spiritual life to accept is that humans are inherently bad at it. That is not to say we cannot make progress (we surely can!). But for every three steps forward there are two in reverse. That's simply how it is. And it is a journey God accepts. What's more, God willfully chooses to walk it with us. And seeing that truth - the enduring presence of God amongst his very "stiff-necked" people- turns out to make all the difference in our day-to-day relationship. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 33:12-34:9 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 The divine commandment of sabbath is stunning and without parallel in the Ancient Near East. Yet YHWH regularly repeats the command to rest and connects it with the covenant bond between Israel and God (so critical was it to God that laboring on the sabbath could be a capital offense!). In this episode we examine both the divine call to work and to rest, and why it is that God (contrary to what we often suspect) literally forbids maximizing our human output - in our own service or in his.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 31:1-18 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Unheard of in the ancient world was a deity who travelled with his people. There were gods of particular regions (and within those regions lesser deities who controlled the wind here or the rain there), but a god so tied to his people that he sojourned with them, never. Until YHWH called Israel. In this episode we examine the depth of the bond between YHWH and Israel and God's commitment to be present. We also look at the first offering taken, one to build God's "tabernacle" - a voluntary act of giving!   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 24:3-25:9 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

One characteristic we have come to expect of a deity is their concern for how humans treat one an other. But this was not the case in the ancient world! Most gods cared only about how they were treated, Fate determining what befell humans. Yet the God of Israel placed care for humans at the core of his law, especially care for the powerless by the powerful. In this episode we look at YHWH’s concern for the poor and his insistence that his people do the same.

One of the most striking aspects of Israel's God is his concern for human interactions. We've seen this already in the 10 Commandments and YHWH's insistence that his people be marked by justice. But God does not stop a broad principles. In this episode (the first of two), we look at what's known as "The Mishpatim" - the civil law that is to govern day-to-day affairs amongst God's people. It give a remarkable look at God's character and the quality of life that is to define his holy nation. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 21:1-21, 33-36; 23:4-5 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Unlike the covenant with Abraham, the covenant at Sinai comes with stipulations - obligations which, if met, lead to blessing, but, if ignored, lead to punishment. The most critical of these stipulations we know as the 10 Commandments. In this episode we examine what these commandments actually command and how they function in light of the larger Sinai covenant, in later Judaism, and in the church of the 21st century. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 19:16-20:21 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

After 40 days in the wilderness, Israel arrives at Mt. Sinai. And it is there the next stage of their growth as God's people begins. It is at Sinai that she is consecrated, and there that God establishes a new covenant - a contract that binds Israel to obedience. YHWH will be her king and she will live out a unique identity in the world - distinct from all other peoples. The question will become: What happens if Israel cannot fulfill her end of the deal? The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 19:1-25 (NRSV) To find out more about Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and how you can help those recovering from natural disaster, CLICK HERE.   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.