Israel was unique in the ancient world, but they often struggled with their God who made them unique, and that power struggle is a feature of every person's story. The central question is: Who will be king? 1 Samuel 8 is more than a story about how Israel gets a king. It's about how they displace the King they already had. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word and turn it into prayer. We started season five in 1 S...
Dec 10, 2022•17 min•Season 5Ep. 22
The eyes are a window to the heart. Unless we're striving to do what is right in God's eyes, things are not going to go well for us! That's the message in the book of Judges as part of our series on praying Bible stories. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word and turn it into prayer. We listen to part of Judges 2 in today's episode. It reveals a pattern that repeats over and over in Israel's early history of livin...
Sep 19, 2022•16 min•Season 5Ep. 21
What is the secret to standing strong in faith? We see a specific truth about that in the book of Joshua. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word and turn it into prayer. We look at four readings from the book of Joshua that tell the story of Israel entering into the land God promised them. First there is a new leader before Israel. With Moses' death, Joshua and chosen to lead the people into the new land...
May 08, 2022•29 min•Season 5Ep. 20
The Psalms lead us in prayer and teach us to pray. Listen to Psalm 2 and pray along with it. Want a fuller devotional based on Psalm 2? Listen to it here in season 3 episode 3 of our podcast. In our regular podcast you can listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day. It's a perfect way to get started! Enjoy listening to God's word and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more. Season Three features many...
Apr 24, 2022•2 min•Season 3Ep. 52
The Psalms lead us in prayer and teach us to pray. Listen to Psalm 1 and pray along with it. Want a fuller devotional based on Psalm 1? Listen to it here in the pilot episode of our podcast. In our regular podcast you can listen to God's word for you, reflect on it and learn to pray to God as well as carry that word with you through the rest of your day. It's a perfect way to get started! Enjoy listening to God's word and follow/subscribe to this podcast to hear more. Season Three features many ...
Apr 23, 2022•1 min•Season 3Ep. 51
God gave the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. So why did Moses repeat the law again to the children of Israel in Moab 40 years later? We find out in today's episode. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word and turn it into prayer. We aren't looking at any specific laws in this episode. Instead we consider the story of why Moses gave the law again and the final events before Israel entered Canaan. We listen to...
Apr 03, 2022•28 min•Season 5Ep. 19
In the wilderness is where God leads, provides, judges and forgives. God gives the Law and tests his people in the wilderness. After Genesis (actually Exodus 13) all of the the action in the next four books of the Torah/Pentateuch happens in the wilderness. Today’s episode is one story from the wilderness that shows God's nature, the people's failure and how to pray in the midst of this. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time t...
Jan 31, 2022•18 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Jesus spent time in Africa as a baby, and when the time was full scripture says, "Out of Egypt I called my son." The meaning of that phrase has a deep resonance that reaches back to the prophets (especially Hosea) and then further back to the prophet Moses. One of the great stories of the Bible is how God's people came to live in Egypt, slide into slavery and oppression, then see a mighty deliverance from Egypt by God. Today’s episode is about the story of God bringing Israel out of Egypt. Seaso...
Dec 19, 2021•28 min•Season 5Ep. 17
How do you deal with someone who is slippery? You're not sure you are getting the full story from them or they seem to have other motives or intentions. Some people are pretty good at plotting and planning and getting the better side of a bargain. This might even describe you! One of those people in the Bible is a man named Jacob. Today’s episode is How Jacob became Israel. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to Go...
Nov 22, 2021•26 min•Season 5Ep. 16
The Bible is full of surprises. There is an overarching story that God is directing, and yet he chooses to write it with human characters. Even when they go “off-script”, God’s story will get told, with extra twists and turns included. In season five we're learning to listen to and pray Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word, reflect on it and then pray it back to God as well as carry that word with us through the rest of the day. Abram and Sarai were pr...
Oct 26, 2021•27 min•Season 5Ep. 15
When things are going well people sometimes say “I have been so blessed!” Before the blessing comes, though, how do you act, how do you talk, how do you behave? How we act before we receive the blessing shows something revealing about our character. In season five we're learning to listen to and pray Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God's word, reflect on it and then pray it back to God as well as carry that word with us through the rest of the day. Abraham's...
Sep 20, 2021•25 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Stories draw us in. It's hard to resist listening to a good story that is well told. Stories hold our interest. What's less obvious is that stories shape us, inspire us and teach us important truths. There is great untapped power in the stories of the Bible. As we learn to pray them we can grow closer to God and experience a growing faith too. In season five we're learning to listen to and pray Bible stories or narratives. We plunged into the beginning of the story of Samuel first then turned ba...
Aug 20, 2021•18 min•Season 5Ep. 13
What's the tallest building you've ever seen up close? In Genesis 11 there was a city and a people who decided to build a tower to heaven. Why they did it and what it meant has a deeper meaning than just a story with a moral about towering pride. In season five we're learning to listen to and pray Bible stories or narratives. We started in the middle of the story at 1 Samuel 1-3 before turning to beginnings in Genesis. In all the plot twists and different settings, with the growing list of chara...
Aug 03, 2021•15 min•Season 5Ep. 12
The Great Flood and Noah’s Ark is a universal story, a familiar tale to many people regardless of their background or religion. In the story of the Bible it is a prominent marker on the path that shows us what God is up to in the world. It also tells us a lot about humans. In season five we're learning to listen to and pray Bible stories or narratives. In Genesis 1-2 we heart about God creating the world in an orderly way and calling it good. He meant for humans to rule over creation according t...
Jul 19, 2021•30 min•Season 5Ep. 11
“Live long and prosper.” The line from Star Trek’s character Spock is a sentiment common to all human cultures. Most people who enjoy any kind of quality of life desire to have a long life. What the Bible says about that challenges our common assumptions. In season five we're listening to Bible stories and learning to pray them. We started in the middle of things with the beginnings of the story of Samuel before turning back to the very start with creation and how the first couple chose to go th...
Jul 06, 2021•32 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Murder. Intrigue. Outrageous behavior. Those sound like elements of a crime story. It’s actually part of the story in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 4. In season five we're listening to Bible stories and learning to pray them. We started in the middle of things with the beginnings of the story of Samuel before turning back to the very start with creation and how the first couple chose to go their own way, to know good and evil on their own apart from God's clear teaching. In our podcast we...
Jun 06, 2021•25 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Most good stories have a strong visual component, and the stories of creation and beginnings in Genesis 1-3 are no different. In this conversation we explore how the first couple is portrayed imaginatively in art as an extended meditation on the imagery of creation and the fall. In season five we're learning to pray the most common type of scripture: narrative or stories. They make up almost half of the Bible so it's important we learn how to read and pray this very common type of Scripture. In ...
May 28, 2021•40 min•Season 5Ep. 8
The goodness of creation and the close relationship that man and woman shared with God gets severely tested and ultimately changed because of a series of decisions. Genesis 3 takes us from the ideal state of "everything was good" to a serious rupture in the relationship. What happened? Is there any hope? In season five we're listening to Bible stories and learning to pray them. Our focus today is the very human story of how the first couple on earth used their freedom and choices to go their own...
May 17, 2021•21 min•Season 5Ep. 7
If "In the beginning" is the perfect way to start a story of creation, why not have a flashback and tell the story again but with a close-up camera angle? That's what Genesis 2 does, touching on some of the common themes already introduced, but advancing the plot and conflict further by zooming in on the human scale of things in a garden. In season five we're listening to Bible stories and learning to pray them. They make up almost half of the Bible so it's important we learn how to read and pra...
May 11, 2021•27 min•Season 5Ep. 6
"In the beginning" seems like the perfect way to start a story, even better than "once upon a time". This is especially so if we're telling a true story about things that really happened that answers some of our deepest, most basic questions about where we came from and our place in the world. In today's episode we are reading Genesis 1 together and going back to the beginning. In season five we're learning to pray the most common type of scripture: narrative or stories. They make up almost half...
Apr 30, 2021•31 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Do you live a storybook life? Most of us don't. In fact, our daily routines and happenings often seem so ordinary to us that we seek excitement, adventure or escape through songs, movies or stories of other people that attract us (or at least distract us). But the truth is, you are living out a story whether or not you are aware of it, and the things that happen in your life become elements of your own personal story. In season five we're learning to pray the most common type of scripture: narra...
Apr 23, 2021•43 min•Season 5Ep. 4
The story of your life can be told with a few words. Your story is really about who you are, where you've come from, what you're overcoming, and where it's all headed. We get the story of Samuel's life in summary form in 1 Samuel 3 as he first hears the word of the Lord and has to decide how to respond to it. In season five we're learning to pray the most common type of scripture: narrative or stories. They make up almost half of the Bible so it's important we learn how to read and pray this ver...
Apr 16, 2021•25 min•Season 5Ep. 3
What comes next?! A good story pulls us in and makes us look forward to where we're going next. In the Bible book of 1 Samuel we start with a sad wife who is ridiculed and she becomes a grateful mother through God's goodness. What comes next is what we cover today in 1 Samuel 2. We began season five with a focus on praying the most common type of scripture: narrative or stories. In this season we will learn to read and pray the half of the Bible filled with narrative or stories and also grasp th...
Apr 09, 2021•20 min•Season 5Ep. 2
It began with a story. When we were young we listened to stories being told or read to us and it's one of those human activities we never outgrow. Whether in gatherings with family or meetups with friends, at work or afterwards, at school and in our movies we tell and listen to stories throughout our entire lives. The Bible is a book filled with stories (almost half of it is narrative), and what's more it tells one coherent over-arching story from beginning to end. We begin season five with a fo...
Apr 02, 2021•32 min•Season 5Ep. 1
"Do Good." It seems so basic, like something you don't have to even say. If you follow Christ, you should no doubt be active in doing good. Yet, throughout Paul's letter to Titus there is a repeated emphasis on "doing good." Today we explore that and focus on the third and final chapter of this short letter. If you are trying to have a quiet time, getting started in a relationship with God or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place. In each episode you will listen ...
Feb 26, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 23
There is a type of growth that's harmful to the body. We call it cancer. When Paul wrote to Titus on Crete, he was deeply concerned about a type of teaching that was growing like cancer among the young churches on the island. In Titus 2 we see Paul describe the effects of healthy teaching in the church and how it would produce people bent on doing good. If you are trying to have a quiet time, getting started in a relationship with God or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the...
Feb 19, 2021•31 min•Season 4Ep. 22
We seem to have a perpetual shortage of leaders. That's really nothing new as we see today in Paul's letter to Titus. The problem isn't that we have no leaders, but the ones we have aren't very good. Paul was concerned as he looked at the small households of faith scattered over the Roman world and instead of good strong leaders, he saw the body of Christ being misled and deceived. He doesn't waste time complaining about it. Instead he gives instructions to Titus about what to look for and prior...
Feb 12, 2021•28 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Do you like to have the last word? 1 John has a lot of truths for us, and in the last chapter it circles back to many of those that we've visited before. John's final word about why he is writing and what's most important and even the last verse in the letter all hold something rich and powerful for us. If you are trying to have a quiet time, getting started in a relationship with God or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place. In each episode you will listen to Go...
Jan 27, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 20
What is God like? 1 John tells us a lot about this, and it also says that how we behave toward others and live our lives shows what we think about God. Love, fear, faith, trust...how we approach our relationships gives us plenty of opportunity to answer on a practical level what we think of God. If you are trying to have a quiet time, getting started in a relationship with God or seeking guidance at this point in your life, you're in the right place. In each episode you will listen to God's word...
Jan 17, 2021•27 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Love is what we are called to, and God calls us his children. That's our identity: children of God. That's immense if we let it sink in. As children of the Creator God, we experience his love and are called to practice it in our lives. 1 John 3 takes us into the heart of this letter and it reveals God's heart as well. God commands us to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another. If you are trying to have a quiet time, getting started in a relationship with God or seeking guidance at this p...
Jan 09, 2021•24 min•Season 4Ep. 18
