The Bottom Line: the riches of this life pass away but the poor can exult in their elevation. “And let the lowly brother exult in his elevation, But the rich man in his abasement, because he will pass away like a flower in the grass; For the sun rose with a scorching heat and withered the grass, and its flower fell away, and the loveliness of its face perished; thus also will the rich man fade away amid his undertakings.” (James 1:9-11 David Bentley Hart) “Now the believer of humble means should...
Jan 29, 2021•22 min•Ep. 31
Bottom Line: Wisdom is already embedded in scripture, and, if we are to have faith, we have to take a step on the Way.
Jan 22, 2021•22 min•Ep. 30
The Bottom Line: Our trials lead to patience which, ultimately, leads to us becoming fully-developed, complete, and missing nothing. James 1:1-4
Jan 15, 2021•23 min•Ep. 29
The Bottom Line: Jesus does announce the coming of a new kingdom, but it’s one not of this world.
Jan 08, 2021•24 min•Ep. 28
The Bottom Line Understanding Jesus in light of the Old Testament puts Jesus and his teaching into context, and this year, St. Stephen helps us do that.
Jan 01, 2021•25 min•Ep. 27
The Bottom Line One of the biggest mysteries of the nativity story reminds us that Jesus is the one who brings hope into the world.
Dec 25, 2020•18 min•Ep. 26
The Bottom Line To grasp the fullness of scripture, you have to include a study of the languages that scripture was written in, but, in the end, you’ll be deeply rewarded.
Dec 18, 2020•23 min•Ep. 25
The Bottom Line As we prepare to meet Christ this Christmas as a members of a royal priesthood, we are called to walk the Way by bringing healing into our world.
Dec 11, 2020•21 min•Ep. 24
Bottom Line To reach our full potential, and prepare ourselves for Christ’s nativity, we have to give up our attachments to this world.
Dec 04, 2020•17 min•Ep. 23
Bottom Line Besides the biblical command to care for the “least of these,” scripture also directs us to lead by offering our “first fruits.” In this way, we become a servant leader and example for others. Takeaways The rich man (in Luke 12:16-21) hoarded his treasure in barns, but then his life was taken from him. Keeping his fruit fruits to himself did him no good. On the other hand, Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. This was a test of Abraham's faith and loyalty. In the end, because Abra...
Nov 27, 2020•19 min•Ep. 22
Bottom Line Once we’ve cultivated a watchfulness of scripture and willingly put ourselves under its authority, we find that it tells us to love our neighbor, especially the “least of these.” Takeaways We’ve been looking at what is means to be a Christian leader, a servant leader. We’re now on step 4 of our journey and I hope you can see how it all flows together. How one step builds to the next one. Firstly you have to become biblically literate. Secondly, once you’ve done that, then you can cul...
Nov 20, 2020•21 min•Ep. 21
Bottom Line The third step in being a Christian servant-leader is to lead as one under authority. Takeaways These past two weeks, we’ve been looking at “servant leadership.” As Christians, we are all called to lead by the example of Christ, and the example he gives us is a servant washing his disciple’s feet. The Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative has given us some steps to help us become more Christ-like in the way we lead. You’ll recall that the first step is to learn our Bible. If we do...
Nov 13, 2020•19 min•Ep. 20
Bottom Line After increasing our biblical literacy, it’s time to slow down and cultivate a watchfulness of what scripture is teaching us about leadership and living. Take Aways If the Bible is our foundation, then, as we read and learn, we have to learn to listen carefully for God’s voice. Story of God calling Samuel as a child (1 Sam 3) It may not always be easy to hear what God is calling us to do because, often, he’s calling us to repentance—and that’s no fun. But … When we learn to cultivate...
Nov 06, 2020•19 min•Ep. 19
Bottom Line: Christian leadership is “servant leadership” and it must start with a foundation built on scripture. Takeaways The Bible has high praise for King Josiah, "Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him." (2 Kings 23:25) These accolades are because Josiah led with a foundation built upon scripture. And, in this way, he's an example of h...
Oct 30, 2020•19 min•Ep. 18
Bottom Line: Scripture is a great foundation upon which we can build our prayer lives. To pick up a copy of Gary's books, including the ones we discussed on the podcast-- Kneeling with Giants and Love Your Bible --visit his author's page on Amazon . I also encourage everyone to check out Gary's website: garynealhansen.com . There, he regularly posts about scripture and prayer, as well as theology, spirituality, and community....
Oct 23, 2020•32 min•Ep. 17
Bottom Line: Sowing seed in “good soil” is a metaphor that means you’re responding completely—body, mind, and soul—to God’s instruction as it’s found in scripture. Takeaways In the parable of the sower, Jesus mentions seeds, which represent the instruction of God (the gospel). He says these seeds can fall on different types of ground: the road, the rocks, among the thorns, and on good soil. The different types of ground represent the different responses people have to the gospel. To the ancient,...
Oct 16, 2020•21 min•Ep. 16
The Bottom Line: To love, to do good, and to lend—even to your enemies—hits at the heart of the social world of the first-century. Takeaways The Roman world—and the Roman household—is structured around what we call a patron-client relationship. The opening of The Godfather is a perfect example of how this worked. A patron would do favors (in Greek, χάρις or “grace”) for his clients, who, in turn, were expected to be loyal (in Greek πίστις or "faithful"). To love (ἀγαπάω) is properly understood a...
Oct 09, 2020•24 min•Ep. 15
Bottom Line: Sometimes, a fisherman has to listen to the carpenter’s advice to push out into deep to catch the fish. And, sometimes, this carpenter’s advice is what we, as God’s assembly, need to hear as well. Takeaways When we first encounter Simon, he’s cleaning his nets even though he hadn’t caught any fish. We imagine he’s frustrated, as we sometimes are when we work hard but don’t get the results we want. But then, he encounters Jesus who borrows his boat and tells him to “push out into the...
Oct 02, 2020•14 min•Ep. 14
Bottom Line: To pick up your cross and follow Jesus implies a responsibility to walk the Way. Takeaways Crucifixion in the ancient world was a humiliating and painful way to die. After being stripped naked and hung on the cross, it could take days to die from exhaustion or asphyxiation. The Romans crucified non-citizens as a way to keep subjected peoples in check and it wasn’t rare. The Romans crucified thousands of people outside the city walls as a warning for all to see. Crucifixion functione...
Sep 25, 2020•18 min•Ep. 13
The Bottom Line: Using 2nd Temple literature to give us a broader understanding of the worldview of Jesus’s time, helps us draw deeper meaning from the New Testament text. Takeaways Enoch, an apocryphal work written just before the time of Jesus, tells us about how the fallen angels came and corrupted humanity just after creation. But, it also tells us how God deals with these fallen angels—specifically one named Azazel. God binds him and throws him out. In Matthew 22, Jesus us the parable of a ...
Sep 18, 2020•19 min•Ep. 12
Bottom Line: Table-Fellowship—what we know as Communion—is living out God’s future kingdom in the present. Takeaways The prophet Isaiah had a vision of what the world will look like when God comes to put everything right. It will be a grand banquet where all nations recognize the God of Israel and he brings justice to the world by making sure there is enough for everyone. This is Isaiah’s Kingdom of God. The early church, as preached by Paul, made Isaiah's future Kingdom a present reality throug...
Sep 11, 2020•27 min•Ep. 11
Bottom Line: To see what Paul means by “works of the law,” it behooves us to see how the early Church Fathers defined that concept. Takeaways In Romans and Galatians , Paul says that “works of the law” are not a means of justification. “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” (Rom 3:28). “Yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” (Gal 2:16) But, theologians through the years have defined...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 10
Bottom Line: If God is the Lord of creation, then the nations are called to walk the Way together under the instruction of the scriptural God. Takeaways As the Israelites entered into Canaan for the fist time, we have this idea that the nations who already lived in the land were annihilated. However, this is not the case. The Israelites were to co-exist with the other nations. A major theme of the Mosaic Law, God’s instruction to his people, is justice for all peoples, including the foreigner wh...
Aug 28, 2020•21 min•Ep. 9
Bottom Line: It’s in the Syrian wilderness, away from the corrupting influence of humanity, that the Shepherd gives his Word so that we can walk the Way! The Takeaways The Old Testament always speaks in concrete images, so the image of a shepherd in the field is not a philosophical, abstract image. Scripture actually envisions the people, living by “Shepherdism,” in an actual geographical location that is much larger than Bible maps usually depict. This is the Syrian Wilderness. The Syrian wilde...
Aug 21, 2020•19 min•Ep. 8
Bottom Line: There is an inner narrative coherence through the entirety of scripture. The Takeaways 1) The inner narrative of the Bible plays out in 7 different “acts.” The Origins The Patriarchal Period and Covenant The Exodus and Judges The Monarchy (The United and Divided Kingdoms) The Exile and the Prophets The “In-Between" History and Its Importance The Unexpected Fulfillment through Jesus Christ 2) After God creates the world, humanity ends up exiled into a fallen and broken world. But, fr...
Aug 14, 2020•37 min•Ep. 7
Bottom line: The solution to our ego and pride, which tells us that we can “do it” on our own, is to learn to humble ourselves and become like a shepherd depending fully on God. The Takeaways One of the Bible’s major objectives is to humble us so that we realize that we are under the care of God; we’re dependent on him for everything, including life. In other words, we can’t “save” ourselves. In order to get this point across, scripture constantly gives us a sharp critique of humanity and our in...
Aug 07, 2020•21 min•Ep. 6
Takeaways 1 - In Galatians 3, Paul understands the Law to be a sort of custodial guide (in Greek, pedagogue ). In the ancient world, this was a slave who played the role of the parent. They were responsible for the education of a child: teaching them to read and write, and taking them to school. They were often strict and formed a life-long relationship with the children they raised. 2 - All societies and cultures are founded upon violence. And, within our societies, violence is perpetrated by c...
Jul 31, 2020•17 min•Ep. 5
The Takeaways 1 - When Jesus says "you are the light of the world" and "a city set on a hill cannot be hidden," he's referencing ideas taken from the prophets. 2 - The prophets tell us that God destroyed the physical temple because God's real temple is not limited to a particular place or time. Instead, his temple is wherever people gather to learn his instruction. 3 - The light that Jesus refers to is the instruction that's contained in the Bible. 4 - Scriptural instruction isn't about the natu...
Jul 24, 2020•15 min•Ep. 4
Image: a relief of the suovetaurilia, a roman sacrifice that included pigs ( photograph by Marie-Lan Nguyen, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license ).
Jul 17, 2020•13 min•Ep. 3
Bottom Line: Scripture reorients our perspective so that we can see God at work in the world. Scripture Verses: “In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month … a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. All the army … broke down the walls around Jerusalem …[and] carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected...
Jul 10, 2020•11 min•Ep. 2
