The BEMA Podcast - podcast cover

The BEMA Podcast

BEMA Discipleshipwww.bemadiscipleship.com
The BEMA Podcast is a walk-through of the context of the Bible and the Text itself, as well as surrounding history. We deconstruct our common readings of the Bible and attempt to reconstruct them through the lens of historical context. The main body of work is contained in Seasons 1–5, and we encourage you to start with episode 0 (or even -1) and continue in order through episode 204. Beyond that, we explore new topics, revisit old topics, and dive deeper into practical ways of living out the things we have learned together. BEMA Discipleship is a ministry of Impact Campus Ministries.

Episodes

410: Session 8 Capstone

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings close out Session 8 with Reed Dent, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé.

Sep 26, 202443 min

409: Sandra Richter — The Epic of Eden

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Dr. Sandra Richter, the Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, a graduate of Harvard University, and of course the author of The Epic of Eden, including a new study in that series covering Deborah. Debora h by Sandra L. Richter The Epic of Eden by Sandra L. Richter Isaiah by Sandra L. Richter Psalms by Sandra L. Richter The Story of God, the Story of Us by Sean Gladding The Story by Zondervan, Max Lucado, and Randy Fraze...

Sep 19, 202458 min

406: Practical Shabbat — Remembering

Brent Billings and Reed Dent join Josh Bossé in remembering Shabbat. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel RRR (2022 film) I Asked for Wonder by Abraham Joshua Heschel and Samuel H. Dresner Who Is Man? by Abraham J. Heschel...

Aug 29, 20242 hr 31 min

405: Practical Shabbat — Keeping

Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks keep Shabbat with Josh Bossé. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel BEMA 331: Sanctuary — Resting with the Mishkan Nerts — Wikipedia

Aug 22, 202455 min

404: Mariko Clark — The Book of Belonging

Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks are joined by special guest Mariko Clark, author of The Book of Belonging. She is a mother and a storyteller, and her time as an editor of National Geographic Learning enabled her to make complex topics accessible and engaging. She and her husband live outside of Indianapolis with their three kids. The Book of Belonging by Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor The Book of Belonging — Substack The Book of Belonging website Additional audio production by Gus Simpson...

Aug 15, 202456 min

403: Talmudic Matthew — But Actually John

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to close out this series from the Talmud and return to a well where Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman. Cairo Geniza — Wikipedia Umm el-Qanatir — Wikipedia Pesher — Wikipedia Targum — Wikipedia Peshitta — Wikipedia Onkelos — Wikipedia “Here’s Something about the Bible of the First Christians I Bet Many of You Didn’t Know (You’re Welcome)” by Peter Enns — Patheos Origin of the Old Testament — The Bible for Normal People “Tell all the truth ...

Aug 08, 202447 min

402: Talmudic Matthew — Lightly Salted

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé examine one more perspective on the ideas of salt and light found in the Sermon on the Mount. BEMA 257: John — Wells and Husbands BEMA 313: Parables — The Good Samaritan

Aug 01, 202456 min

401: Talmudic Matthew — Light

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to consider Jesus’s teaching on light through the lens of the Talmud. BEMA 94: Hope of the World Bava Batra — Wikipedia 1 Corinthians 3: Building a Temple — Reed Dent, Campus Christian Fellowship Numbers: The Wilderness Years , volume 4 of Covenant & Conversation by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks...

Jul 25, 202450 min

400: Talmudic Matthew — Salt

Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks unearth a deeper meaning of salt through a Talmudic lens. “The Salt of the Land and the Light of the World” — BibleProject Podcast BEMA 248: Joy and Lot’s Untitled Wife

Jul 18, 202439 min

399: Talmudic Matthew — Household of God

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé browse through the Beatitudes one by one. Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing by Søren Kierkegaard Live Q&A with Josh Bossé (April 2024) — YouTube

Jul 11, 20242 hr 37 min

398: Talmudic Matthew — Blessing

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé crack open the question of what a biblical blessing is. To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue Every Moment Holy, Volume I by Douglas Kaine McKelvey Every Moment Holy, Volume II by Douglas Kaine McKelvey...

Jul 04, 20241 hr 5 min

397: Mitch Lavender — Respect and Dignity

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Mitch Lavender, longtime BEMA listener and group facilitator, and now Lead Campus Minister in Cincinnati with Impact Campus Ministries, about his experiences with a community dealing with the challenges of diversity and how that can lead to transition with family, friends, and faith. A Church Called Tov by Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer Additional audio production by Gus Simpson Special Guest: Mitch Lavender....

Jun 27, 202459 min

396: Talmudic Matthew — Desert and Sea

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Reed Dent revisit Matthew 4 with a Talmudic lens. BEMA 92: How to Bring Order Out of Chaos Ethics Ratings of Nearly All Professions Down in U.S. — Gallup Scutching — Wikipedia Tractate Sanhedrin — Sefaria “Questions About Angels” (poem) by Billy Collins Gospel of Matthew Summary (Part 1) — BibleProject Gospel of Matthew Summary (Part 2) — BibleProject...

Jun 20, 20241 hr 18 min

395: Talmudic Matthew — Jordan

Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks take a closer look at the work of John the Baptist. BEMA 91: Tavilah T'Shuvah BEMA 92: How to Bring Order Out of Chaos

Jun 13, 202453 min

394: Talmudic Matthew — Stars and Magic

Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks take a closer look at the magi and the star of the nativity. BEMA 89: Written in the Stars BEMA 257: Wells and Husbands

Jun 06, 202446 min

393: Talmudic Matthew — Dreams

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Reed Dent explore how the Talmudic conversation might shed new light on the account of Joseph’s angelic visitation in Matthew 1. BEMA 22: Under the Chuppah BEMA 85: Mark — Roman Gospel BEMA 89: Written in the Stars Berakhot 56 (Talmud) — Sefaria...

May 30, 20241 hr 11 min

392: Talmudic Matthew — Legacy

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are with Elle Grover Fricks to kick off a new series on Talmudic conversations in Matthew. Asking Better Questions of the Bible by Marty Solomon Sefaria: A Living Library of Jewish Texts Brad Gray on the Genealogy of Matthew — Real Life on the Palouse “Matthew’s Begats” by Andrew Peterson — YouTube...

May 23, 202449 min

391: Tommy Brown — The Ache for Meaning

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Tommy Brown, author of The Ache for Meaning. He is a pastor and contemplative teacher with a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry and master’s degrees in divinity and management, and a former little league baseball coach. The Ache for Meaning by Tommy Brown What Is the Palouse? Dark Night of the Soul — Wikipedia The Seven Money Types by Tommy Brown The Torah for Dummies by Arthur Kurzweil The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel Sabbath as Resistance...

May 16, 202445 min

390: Psalms — Feeling Dumb with a Great Cloud of Witnesses

Brent Billings, Reed Dent, and Elle Grover Fricks conclude the series on the Psalms and offer a final bit of encouragement to carry with us into the future. Festival of Faith & Writing — Calvin University My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman Inside Out (2015 film) — JustWatch “Despite My Efforts Even My Prayers Have Turned into Threats” from Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar “The Only Animal” from Walking to Martha’s Vineyard by Franz Wright “Ulysses” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson — Poetry Foundation “Bless ...

May 09, 20241 hr 2 min

389: Psalms — 23 & Me

Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé take a second stroll through the words of Psalm 23. The Gorge Amphitheatre Saving Paradise by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker

May 02, 20241 hr 14 min

388: Psalms — Are You Listening?

Brent Billings and Reed Dent listen to the voice of Psalm 19. Firefly [Lightning Bug] — Wikipedia Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner Psalm 19: The Heavens Declare the Glory of God — Aleph Beta Reflections: Christianity Makes Sense of the World — C. S. Lewis Institute “The Merton Prayer” — Reflections, Yale Divinity School...

Apr 25, 20241 hr 10 min

386: Psalms — The Whole Human Experience

Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent compare and contrast Psalms 51 and 139. Psalm 139: Take 1 — Reed Dent, Campus Christian Fellowship Psalm 139: Take 4 — Reed Dent, Campus Christian Fellowship The Crucifixion by Fleming Rutledge...

Apr 11, 202446 min

384: Derek Vreeland — Centering Jesus

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Derek Vreeland, author of Centering Jesus. He is the discipleship pastor at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, MO, where he lives with his wife, Jenni. Centering Jesus by Derek Vreeland Review of Centering Jesus — Marty Solomon, Goodreads Man Enough by Nate Pyle God’s Empowering Presence by Gordon D. Fee Benefit of the Doubt by Gregory A. Boyd Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew W. Bates Daily Office Lectionary by Derek Vreeland Book of Common ...

Mar 28, 202450 min

383: Psalms — Praying Hate

Brent Billings, Reed Dent, and Elle Grover Fricks discuss the words of Psalm 137. BEMA 380: Psalms — The Hidden Face Answering God by Eugene H. Peterson BEMA 36: The Redemption Cycle The Message of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann...

Mar 21, 20241 hr 11 min

382: Psalms — Small, Not Insignificant

Brent Billings, Reed Dent, and Elle Grover Fricks consider the words of Psalm 8. The Message of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann Visual Commentary on Psalm 8 — BibleProject The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel Reflections on the Psalms by C. S. Lewis “Rabbi Simcha Bunem's Favorite Sayings” by Julie Danan — Sefaria Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 8 — Sefaria Psalm 8 — Wikipedia “Stars” by Switchfoot — YouTube “Friend of God” by Israel Houghton — YouTube...

Mar 14, 202452 min

381: Psalms — A Sheep in the Mirror

Brent Billings, Reed Dent, and Josh Bossé discuss Psalm 23. “House of God Forever” by Jon Foreman — YouTube Psalm 23 — Wikipedia The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter

Mar 07, 202456 min