Exploring My Strange Bible
113 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 5.5K ratingsWelcome to Exploring My Strange Bible by Tim Mackie, lead theologian and co-founder of BibleProject.
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Episodes
A Community of Good News: New Testament Themes Part 5
September 06, 2017 07:05 - 52 minutes - 48 MBIn this teaching we'll explore chapter 10 of the New Testament letter to the Hebrews, specifically the challenge that Jesus' followers need to gather on a regular basis. Specifically, we'll look at the really cool images in this passage that illustrate the importance of gathering together alongside other habits that foster a life of faith. This message challenged me and my expectation about church. I hope it is helpful for you too.
A Generous Gospel: New Testament Themes Part 4
September 06, 2017 07:00 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBIn this teaching we'll explore Paul's vision of Jesus-style generosity in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. In Paul's mind, the good news about Jesus becomes most persuasive when his followers are living with incredible generosity. Giving away resources when it makes no sense is a powerful way of showing people that Jesus is truly the risen Lord of the world.
Protecting the Witness: New Testament Themes Part 3
September 04, 2017 07:10 - 50 minutes - 46 MBThis episode explores what the word “witness” means in the New Testament. The way this word is used in the apostles' writing is a bit different than how modern Christians have come to use it. We'll explore what it means for a group of people to bear witness to Jesus together. We'll also explore Paul's farewell speech in Acts Chapter 20 and discover how important it is to protect the witness of a church community so that it's representation of Jesus is faithful and not distorted.
The Cost of Following Jesus: New Testament Themes Part 2
September 04, 2017 07:05 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBThis teaching explores Jesus' call to a radical way of life in following him. It's based on Luke Chapter 14, which includes some very challenging sayings of Jesus about counting the cost of following him. We will consider the balance between Jesus’s generous grace as he invites everyone into his community, as well as his stiff challenge about the great cost and sacrifice that is going to be required. Many of us have a difficult time balancing Jesus' generosity with his intense call to follo...
God's Kingdom Has Arrived: New Testament Themes Part 1
September 04, 2017 07:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBIn this teaching we explore the Gospel of Mark's introduction to Jesus and his basic message and mission. We discover that announcing the arrival of God's kingdom was Jesus' greatest priority. For the most part modern Western people have not truly heard what Jesus was trying to get across, and so the concept of God's kingdom is not familiar to most people. Instead of importing our ideas about what Christianity is, we need to recover the apostles' presentation of Jesus in the New Testament. ...
A Theology of Work Part 2 - A Future for My Work
August 30, 2017 07:10 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBShould the fact that I am a follower of Jesus mean that I think differently about my work and career? If so, how? In this teaching, I explore how our hopes about the ultimate outcome of history have a significant impact on how we think about our day to day jobs and career goals. Many Christians adopt the view that the world will ultimate be destroyed when Jesus returns, and that our day to day lives don't matter very much. But this is the opposite of what we find in the teaching of the Apost...
A Theology of Work Part 1 - A Story about Work
August 30, 2017 07:00 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBIn this teaching, I compare what constitute work in the story line of the bible vs. how modern American culture defines work. We will look at Genesis chapters 1-3 and see how work is not a curse but actually one of the greatest gifts that God has given to humans.
Ecclesiastes Part 3 - The Limits of Labor
August 28, 2017 07:10 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBIn this message, I explore the concept of work and labor in the book of Ecclesiastes. The teacher wants to show us that it's impossible to create meaning in your life from one's vocation or career. But, this doesn’t mean that we should quit working. Rather, we must learn how to see our life's work in a larger context, helping us navigate through both success and failure. The teacher offers practical wisdom and guidance about having a job, and how to enjoy both the mundane and the beautiful p...
Ecclesiastes Part 2 - The Gift
August 28, 2017 07:05 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBIn this episode, we explore how how acknowledging that all of life is "vapor" (Hebrew "hevel") can lead to the enjoyment of the small and simple delights we encounter in day to day life.
Ecclesiastes Part 1 - Hevel
August 28, 2017 07:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBIn this first episode we unpack the introduction to the book of Ecclesiastes and touch upon the issues of authorship. Mostly we'll camp out on the core the metaphor the teachers uses to talk about all of life. It's the Hebrew word “hevel” which means vapor or smoke. You won't be able to see my hand-carved Danish tobacco pipe, but you'll hear all about it. It's a powerful image to talk about the fleeting nature and unpredictability of all of life.
Ecclesiastes Part 1 - Hevel
August 28, 2017 07:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBThis is the first in a series of three episodes on the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. This is a really unique book of the Bible. It contains some of most skeptical wisdom in all of the Scriptures, sometimes scandalous and always fascinating. In this book the teachers shows how most of our daily time and energy is spent on things that are totally meaningless, which should motivate humility, integrity, and enjoyment of the simple things in life.
Making of the Bible Part 3 - A History of New Testament Manuscripts and English Translations
August 23, 2017 07:10 - 51 minutes - 47 MBThis last episode is about the manuscript history of the New Testament, as well as a short history of English translations. In the second half of this lecture, we talk about the process and the dynamics at work in collecting the books of the bible into the “canon," a technical term referring to the authoritative collection of the biblical books.
Making of the Bible Part 2 - Old Testament Manuscripts & The Making of the New Testament
August 23, 2017 07:05 - 45 minutes - 42.3 MBIn this episode we dive into the composition and writing of the book of the New Testament. Specifically, we'll look at how the books themselves give us clues about when and how they were written. As we learn more about where the Bible came from, we gain a deeper sense of what the Bible is and what we're supposed to do with it.
Making of the Bible Part 1 - The Making of the Old Testament Books
August 23, 2017 07:00 - 52 minutes - 48.6 MBIn this series we explore how the Bible was written and the long process of its composition and manuscript history. The bible is a book with a very traceable history, it was not written in secret. The authors of these texts were of course humans, but they also claimed that through these human words God speaks to his people. It's important to keep the divine and human nature of the Bible in balance. Many people think that believing the Bible is God's word necessitates believing it came into e...
Torah Crash Course Part 3 - The Old Testament Laws and the Hope of a New Covenant
August 21, 2017 07:10 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBIn this episode, we focus on the purpose of the laws in the story line of the Torah and the whole Bible. The story about the covenant that God made with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai makes up 2/3 of the entire Torah. There are 613 laws that God gives to Israel at Mount Sinai. In this lecture, we’ll talk about where the laws come in the story, and how the stories offer important commentary on the laws. In short, the Torah is showing how the Israelites were unable to truly love and obey...
Torah Crash Course Part 2 - The Exodus and Mt. Sinai
August 21, 2017 07:05 - 58 minutes - 54.1 MBThis part camps out in the second book of the bible, Exodus. We explore the story of Moses, Pharaoh, and the liberation of the Israelites that all culminates in the night of Passover. This was one of the most important foundation stories for the Israelite people in ancient times, and its crucially important for understanding Jesus. He timed his arrival into Jerusalem for the Passover feast and at the Last Supper he used the Passover symbols to explain the meaning of his coming death. From t...
Torah Crash Course Part 1 - Genesis
August 21, 2017 07:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBAfter many years of pastoral ministry I found that some of the main misunderstandings people have about Jesus come from misunderstanding the larger biblical story that he brought to fulfillment. When we try to understand who Jesus was without reference to the Old Testament, it's kind of like watching the Star Wars movies, but skipping the first episode. You can follow what's going on, but you won't really understand the deeper elements of the story. This set of lectures was my effort to con...
Science & Faith
August 16, 2017 07:00 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBMany people believe that science and religious faith are bitter enemies with conflicting views of the universe. One the one hand there is the scientific account of the origins of life and then there is the story of universal origins told by the bible. But is this tension real, or is it based on a deep misunderstanding of what the Bible is and how it communicates? This is a lecture I gave at a Science and Faith conference at Blackhawk Church in Madison, WI in the year 2011. I ask what it mean...
The Amazing Jonah Part 5: When God Loves Your Enemy
August 14, 2017 07:20 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBIn the final episode we see Jonah's response when God forgives his enemies. He's hot with anger and chews God out for being to gracious. This part of the story challenges us to reconsider Jesus' teaching to love and forgive our enemies, those people in our lives who are the most difficult.
The Amazing Jonah Part 4: Thrones & Ashes
August 14, 2017 07:15 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBJonah goes very much against his own desires to the ancient city of Nineveh. He utters a very strange five word sermon and the people of Nineveh have a very interesting response. Also, we discuss the meaning of the biblical word “repentance” and what it does and doesn’t mean.
The Amazing Jonah Part 3: A Severe Mercy
August 14, 2017 07:10 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBIn this episode we ponder the very strange and beautifully intricate poem that Jonah utters in the belly of the fish. This is a powerful and heavily ironic moment in the story. This poem represents a moment when one of God’s people is in crisis. Jonah discovers that his crisis is actually God’s work to bring him to the end of himself. Jonah’s experience in this story forces us to think about similar moments of crisis in our own lives.
The Amazing Jonah Part 2: Asleep at the Wheel
August 14, 2017 07:05 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBJonah is ironically portrayed as God’s own prophet, but he is the only person who really refuses to listen to God. This episode explores how Jonah is “asleep at the wheel” and deaf to God and everything that God uses to communicate to him. This story invites us in to think about our own lack of perception and awareness of the ways that God might be trying to get through to us.
The Amazing Jonah Part 1: Running From Your Life
August 14, 2017 07:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBIn this episode I’m laying the groundwork for exploring the story of Jonah with new eyes: Who is Jonah? Why did he flee and get on a boat to Tarshish? And why is his story in the Bible? We also ponder the question of why Jonah ran from God. He thought he was saving his own life, but in reality, he was running from real life. Followers of Jesus face the same choice today, whether or not we will let go of our own vision of the “good life” and instead take up Jesus’ vision for our lives.
Introducing Exploring My Strange Bible
August 11, 2017 07:00 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBIntroducing Exploring My Strange Bible