The Mount Sinai story starts differently to how it is often told. Before the 10 Commandments are given, Moses goes up and down the mountain numerous times. In fact, this chapter starts with a wonderfully direct statement by God which is willingly agreed to by the Israelites. It almost seems as though the friction is gone from the story, perhaps highlighting the disobedience which eventually occurs. We explore a some of the motivation attributed to God in this chapter.
Aug 22, 2025•33 min•Season 22Ep. 8
There are hardships for the Israelites in the desert, perhaps unsurprisingly. The lesson this week poses these challenges as "tests of Israel's faith", but we wonder whether some of the issues that arise might be better categorised as raw disobedience. How much does it change our reading of the story, and what does this mean for us today?
Aug 15, 2025•41 min•Season 22Ep. 7
Pharaoh changes his mind quickly after the Exodus, and chases the Israelites. It is fascinating to explore the way it is described using collective language. Again we're challenged to ponder the ways in which we might be a bit like Pharaoh, and of course it is dramatic that the Israelites cry out in dismay so soon after the Plagues which spoke of God's power.
Aug 08, 2025•40 min•Season 22Ep. 6
After looking at the plagues in general, this week pauses to examine the Passover and 10th plague in detail. It is a striking calamity throughout Egypt, and there is a lot to think about here. The lesson has an interesting prompt - asking us to ponder what our decisions and actions might be in situations of responsibility like Pharaoh. We explore this story from a few unusual angles.
Aug 01, 2025•47 min•Season 22Ep. 5
To explore the Plagues, we pull out an episode from the archives. This was published originally on October 1, 2021, and so you may have forgotten a few of the details. It was an episode that we particularly enjoyed, and Cameron shares some interesting insights about the Plagues on Egypt that featured in a sermon he preached.
Jul 25, 2025•58 min•Season 22Ep. 4
There are a few ways in which the Exodus gets off to a rough start. This week we focus on a strange story that occurs between the burning bush commission and Moses's return to Egypt. It is yet another apparent hiccup in the flow of the Exodus story, and we are challenged by the way God is described as being angry with Moses. Given everything that takes place, it is fascinating that the "the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron."
Jul 18, 2025•26 min•Season 22Ep. 3
The burning bush is a well-known story, and helps to introduce us further to Moses. Two great things happen in Exodus three: God introduces himself by "name" with the famous "I am", and we have one of the greatest-ever stories of God's calling. It is interesting to ponder how reluctant Moses is, and we explore various ways this challenges us today.
Jul 11, 2025•30 min•Season 22Ep. 2
We're starting a season exploring the book of Exodus, and the story opens with a focus on amazing women. By the time baby Moses gets his name in this story, the only other named characters are the midwives Shiphrah and Puah. In fact, almost all the people doing anything proactive are women! We notice a few fresh perspectives on this well-known narrative, and are interested to see how even chapter 1 and 2 set up some of the things that will feature in the Exodus.
Jul 04, 2025•34 min•Season 22Ep. 1
What is Jonah's challenge for a prophetic-future focused Christian? There is a widespread idea of some prophecies being conditional on our response, and others being unconditional. The more we look at it in the Old Testament the more it seems this distinction is not often all that clear in the prophecy and its wording. We are intrigued by some of the implications for reading and applying prophecy today, especially as Adventists.
Jun 27, 2025•40 min•Season 21Ep. 13
Reading last-day prophecies with hope rather than fear is a profound perspective shift. We can't help focus on the Sabbath commandment, which features so prominently in in the "Seventh-day Adventist" name and also in our reading of last-day prophecy. It is striking that Jesus stirred up considerable controversy over his Sabbath actions, and the lesson this week has an intriguing description that leads us into a broader discussion.
Jun 20, 2025•50 min•Season 21Ep. 12
Moral growth and moral decline may be intertwined throughout history. The story of Ruth is well-known and widely loved, and for good reason. It's a love story, with vivid characters and fabulous prophetic echos of Jesus the Redeemer. Interestingly, it also intersects with the idea of moral decline that came up in last week's episode. We are challenged to look deeper than the all-too-easy dismissive judgementalism that can be so tempting.
Jun 13, 2025•39 min•Season 21Ep. 11
How to "preach our unique remnant message" while staying alert to the challenge that we too can fall into the "heinous sins described in Rev 13"? The first situation sounds like confidence and an assurance of being right, while the second is all about recognising the insidious ways we can become the monster we claim to fight. Probably each individual christian feels more at home in one or the other of these extremes, and there are plenty of positions in between. It is humbling to recall the expe...
Jun 06, 2025•30 min•Season 21Ep. 10
The Psalms explore themes of suffering, judgement, good and evil. However, it is possible this is due to such things being an almost universal part of human experience. The lesson this week asks us to consider how Psalm 67 might inform our understanding of the role of God's people in end times. At first glance it seems more interested in telling us about the role of God himself, and it is possible that the application to God's people might be more timeless.
May 30, 2025•33 min•Season 21Ep. 9
How can we best use images and symbols in "God's songbook", the Psalms? The lesson this week comments on judgement themes in Psalm 5. We find it somewhat difficult to identify all the connections, but find value in the challenging poetic images. We are particularly intrigued by what it might meant to recognise some of the "bloodthirsty and deceitful" aspects in our own lives. Can we cope with the idea that someone might be praying these ideas about us!
May 23, 2025•42 min•Season 21Ep. 8
The foundation of prophecy is perhaps hope. In the end, the Bible says in so many ways, God and goodness do triumph. Prophecy seems to use this long-term hope for the future as a lens through which to examine and evaluate present actions. We examine the beginning of the book of Ezekiel, where a prophet is called to speak God's words "whether the people listen to them or not".
May 16, 2025•47 min•Season 21Ep. 7
Animal sacrifice is one of the most pervasive symbols in the Bible, and yet is foreign to modern society. One interesting aspect of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament is that God sometimes declared he rejected it! Does this perhaps illuminate what might be the actual substance behind this ritual? We explore how "simply going through the motions" can perhaps be valuable spiritual discipline and yet can also be dangerous disengagement from the mission of God in our world....
May 09, 2025•31 min•Season 21Ep. 6
God seems entirely willing to work with imperfect people, cultures, and institutions. This episode follows on from our last one, exploring issues of human government and nation-states. There's an interesting connection with themes in a recent Ezra Klein Show podcast from the New York Times . Jesus reminded the people who were proud of being Abraham's descendents that God could make stones into children of Abraham. Maybe even some secular institutions can be used by God for his purposes. When Chr...
May 02, 2025•46 min•Season 21Ep. 5
Nations fall short of God's ideals, but removing government usually leads to anarchy. When listing the nations descended from Noah, Genesis 10 points out that Nimrod built a kingdom including places such as Babel and Ninevah. That's somewhat foreboding given our knowledge of the subsequent stories. Although it is good to be counter cultural, is the government (or government in general) always bad?
Apr 25, 2025•47 min•Season 21Ep. 4
Marriage is a strong but tricky image throughout the Bible. It is interesting to see that God is able to reveal aspects of himself through this image both when marriage is at its best and also when it doesn't go as hoped.
Apr 18, 2025•35 min•Season 21Ep. 3
Genesis is a foundation for many of the symbols and images that become significant throughout the Bible. But it is fascinating to reconsider just how detailed these introductions actually are. What is the resolution of the imagery in Genesis, and does it add value forwards through time? Could some of it only make sense in retrospect? We focus particularly on themes of "the lamb" and sacrifice, and it seems much is left unresolved (from our Christian perspective) in the book of Genesis itself....
Apr 11, 2025•53 min•Season 21Ep. 2
One principle of prophecy is that God wants to be understood. But it does sometimes seem strange then that He chooses such mysterious analogies and images. This new season will explore a few of these allusions, images, and symbols. One key issue with prophecy is whether these aspects should be interpreted literally or figuratively, but there are numerous other contrasts that could be explored: prosaic-vs-poetic, understated-vs-exaggerated, right-vs-wrong, etc. Maybe some Biblical passages don't ...
Apr 04, 2025•49 min•Season 21Ep. 1
"Love and Justice" is often narrowed to "Love or Commandments". This may not be the most helpful juxtaposition. The Adventist lesson guide this week asks "how could we express love to God, or love to others, if we are violating any one of the Ten Commandments?" In one sense this seems reasonable (the Commandments do relate to loving God and others). But in the light of Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount it seems equally reasonable to suggest that no sinner truly "keeps" the Ten Commandments. Does ...
Mar 28, 2025•48 min•Season 20Ep. 13
What does God's concern for justice mean for us today? This Psalm is only brief, but resonates deeply with numerous bible passages about God's passion for justice. How can we engage with Him in "upholding the cause of the poor and the oppressed", and how do we make sure to avoid "defending the unjust"?
Mar 21, 2025•39 min•Season 20Ep. 12
How much does understanding actually help us to cope with suffering? An interesting feature of the Sabbath School lesson this quarter is that it consistently assumes there is comfort in knowing why bad things happen. This may well be true in some situations, but we ponder on the story of Job who was never told the answer to this question. The question of what more God could have done is posted in Isaiah 5, but not about God's actions to prevent suffering. Instead, it is an expression of God's ye...
Mar 14, 2025•46 min•Season 20Ep. 11
Are there rules for the Cosmic Conflict? The lesson this week sets out to explore the "rules of engagement" in the conflict between God and Satan. Is this a helpful framing of the situation if Satan - the great deceiver - disregards any rules and tries to cheat? The idea has value in attempting to explain why God might not step in sometimes as we wish, but we explore a surprising alternative idea.
Mar 07, 2025•46 min•Season 20Ep. 10
What about celebrating what God does , more than analysing what he might not prevent? This conversation grows out of the previous episode, revisiting the idea of comparing or weighing good versus evil in the world. In a profound sense it seems that goodness really must outweigh all the suffering. This is the fundamental core of hope in the Christian message, and there are some provocative ways in which this idea can intersect our experience.
Feb 28, 2025•44 min•Season 20Ep. 9
How does God's love and providence work with our free will? A lot has been said over Christian history about how we might understand God's will, His providence, and the difficult wording of predestination used in this opening passage of Ephesians. Our discussion turns to the implications these somewhat theoretical ideas have on the very practical experience of pain and suffering. There are obviously multiple ways to put it all together! We reflect on how it tends to be more fruitful to focus on ...
Feb 21, 2025•43 min•Season 20Ep. 8
When is it more important to love kindness? Exploring aspects of perverted justice invariably leads to any number of scenarios that defy the just/unjust categorisation. What are we to do in such situations? While Micah 6 calls us to do justice, it also reminds us to love kindness.
Feb 14, 2025•33 min•Season 20Ep. 7
What does it mean for God to love justice? The idea of justice appeals to everyone who feels ripped off, but "God's judgement" can sound threatening. There are aspects of justice that are difficult for us to comprehend, let alone achieve.
Feb 07, 2025•36 min•Season 20Ep. 6
Divine wrath can be a difficult concept to put alongside a "loving God". In fact, this attribute of God is perhaps more prominent in the Bible than in many contemporary expressions of Christianity. It makes sense for us to tend to avoid thinking about it, given the abundance of situations in which human anger is unhelpful. We discuss how anger might fit in to our understanding of God? Is anger ever ok for us? Can we have rigeous indignation without it simply being self-righteous indignation?...
Jan 31, 2025•29 min•Season 20Ep. 5
