The fight to win is sexy, but ruling is drab, hard, and important
And that's what we're getting in Nehemiah 7. Nehemiah has one quest left to complete, and that starts now.
2024-04-29 04:14:54 +0000 UTC View Post
The Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast posts
Jeff made this week's opening episode better...
...make sure to listen to the end. Also, I really do like lots of things about California.
Feel free to use this thread for the week's discussion.
Modern Myths that Permeate Culture
(New to this, screwed up the post the first time)
Which ones did I say?
Star Wars (for sure)
Lord of the Rings (pretty much for sure)
Marvel/Avengers stuff (at least for a while there?)
What am I missing? Is Dune on it's way there someday?
Thoughts, please.
We're Moving the Conversation to Patreon
For a long time, we've had two separate threads of conversation running; with one here and another over at Reddit, and neither getting a ton of traction. It's time to do something about that, so I've decided to move the whole conversation over here for a few very honest reasons:
1) I'm tired of Reddit. For those who don't know, reddit.com is a free conversation hub that has been popular for the last ten or twelve years. Th...
About Remembrance
I think we're going to begin to discover that remembrance is a sneaky-key theme in this book starting this week.
Also, we got a few great Nehemiah dismissive one-liners in chapter six. Looking forward to that.
So much interest and money stuff...
...and it's important. This week we're finishing up that overview of Old Testament money, lending, debt, interest and Jubilee stuff, and we're on to the business about how Nehemiah's going to fix the problem.
2024-04-09 00:12:25 +0000 UTC View PostNehemiah 5 is a Go!
Aaaaaaaaaand, it's bad. But at least it's a new kind of bad. Economic crisis among the returning exiles is threatening to undermine the rebuilding project. Nehemiah is going to have to figure out a way to fix the economy, meet the needs of people who've depleted their savings, and still fend off his enemies. Yikes.
2024-04-01 16:11:45 +0000 UTC View PostNot a charged post, but I still wanted to share...
...this little short I made about a Good Friday procession I attended in Costa Rica. There's a follow up short with more of the event coming out in about an hour as well.
Here's the first one: https://youtube.com/shorts/8qcLvB4OWRY?feature=share
Fight Chapter
The rest of chapter four has the tension going from cold to hot and Nehemiah trying to keep it together with his people and his project. Game on.
2024-03-26 05:52:52 +0000 UTC View PostMatthew Stickers Coming Your Way Soon
Also this week is about Sanballat accidentally speaking truth and Nehemiah's very complex prayer. Then the fighty stuff happens next week.
Please make sure addresses are updated so we get your Matthew Achievement Unlocked sticker to you!
Thinker and Doer
Nehemiah surveyed the situation, got criticized publicly, and then went ahead and did what needed to be done anyway. Impressive.
2024-03-11 19:54:11 +0000 UTC View PostOn to Jerusalem
The plan is set, and Nehemiah's on his way to solve problems. Along the way we catch a curious name that's going to take us down the history rabbit hole before we get into a stylish cinematic scene as the week goes along. Should be fun.
2024-03-05 01:46:04 +0000 UTC View PostI'm Just Gonna Say it...
...Artaxerxes seems like a way better guy than his dad. And this week that's on display as he handles his business with empathy and calm when confronted with a problem that isn't really his.
2024-02-27 16:03:19 +0000 UTC View PostDramatic Prologue Complete
This week, we're finishing chapter one, and we're into chapter two. It's dramatic and fun and I'm going to have fun with it.
2024-02-20 16:40:59 +0000 UTC View PostStarting serious this week, but....
.....in fairness, so does the book of Nehemiah. We'll look at Nehemiah's prayer and his action plan this week.
I'm surprised Ezra didn't blame everyone else...
....seriously, I think I would have thrown everyone else under the bus for what was wrong in Jerusalem, but Ezra made it his problem to own as well as to solve. Impressed. I see why Nehemiah liked this guy so much.
2024-02-05 19:26:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe People Are in a State of Ill Repair
Ezra gets home and almost immediately starts ripping his beard hair out. So, it's bad.
2024-01-29 15:55:17 +0000 UTC View PostEzra's Plans Raise Eyebrows
We're just about done with the lightning summary of the events of Ezra that lead directly into the events of Nehemiah, and even though we're going through all this super-fast, we're still getting a sense of the people and culture and theology of this moment in time. Does Ezra's approach to all this make sense? Is it in the Bible because we should take cues from him, or is this just a recounting of details so readers will know what happened? Lots to talk about.
2024-01-22 04:21:43 +0000 UTC View PostHere's Jeff's Cool Mashup From This Week....
...and also, here's another week of Ezra/Nehemiah's story of the rebuilding of the temple.
About that: It wasn't easy, and it took a minute, but the exiles got it done. Now, all that's left is to rebuild the people.
Here's that fun opening audio clip from the other day
We had fun making this and thought you might like it. Week 2 of Nehemiah is focused on the prequel to Nehemiah which is Ezra, which in turn will make the story of Nehemiah not happen in a vacuum.
2024-01-10 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostHere's My Post for Week 1 of Nehemiah (Slightly Overdue)
I'm so happy to be neck deep in Nehemiah and Ezra stuff right now, and I'm also so thankful for all the encouragement about week one of the new season. In my excitement and focus on that, I forgot to publish week one of the new season for all of you last week, so I'm making that happen today. Then tomorrow I'll make my official post for week 2 and be back on track.
Also, I've got a little audio clip I'm going to pass along to you in that week 2 post tomorrow, so make sure to check that out...
On my way to the Post office!
My amazing family spent a couple of days lovingly packing everything up, and now we are going out to get some Five Guys, and put all of this in the mail for you.
All five of us could not help but be filled with gratitude to you as we spent time putting together these packages this week. Thank you so much for understanding what I'm going for with this thing and for making it happen.
Nehemiah starts on Monday.
Visit of the Magi, and the Nehemiah Next Week
It doesn't feel right to start the new season of the podcast on Nehemiah on the week between Christmas and the New Year, so we're going to do a special week with a sermon from a while back on Matthew 2. I hope you enjoy the change of pace.
After that, we'll start the new season on Monday, January 1st! Please invite a friend!
Final Week of Esther. Nehemiah Awaits.
Like any great story, there are some fascinating things people have done with Esther over the years in terms of riffs, memes and fan fiction. This week we'll look at a few of the more interesting incidences of that, and consider how messing with the story completely changes the themes.
This has been a great time for me, and I'm sad it's done, but I've been logging the hours on Nehemiah and I'm excited to process what happened after Esther.
As soon as I'm back from my family trav...
Only 10 More Days of Esther. I Will Miss Her.
We're down to the final verses and final big picture evaluations of this book. As I type this, I'm already done, and I'm feeling it. This was a super meaningful eight months of time together, and something more like 16 months for me (since I started working on this last summer). There's more to consider over the next few days, and we will do that.
2023-12-11 05:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostDid you hear about the stickers?
We made a super cool sticker to commemorate all of us investing this time together on the book of esther. There's a special version of the Esther sticker with a gold outline that all of you are getting as a way of honoring your contribution to this season of the podcast. If you want to know more about how that all works, make sure to check out the bonus episode from this weekend, and if you want to get right to the juicy stuff go to minute 14. All of this is to say that I appreciate you great...
2023-12-04 18:56:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhat do they do to celebrate Purim now?
I didn't know the answer to this question, so I looked it up and learned with you in real time. Turns out it's super interesting!
Keep an eye out for a bonus episode this week with a fun announcement that involves you getting something cool that I've been working on.
An Eventful Week...
... to say the least. This week we dive deeper into the details of the fateful resolution to the tension between the Jews and the enemies of the jews, and we look at Esther and Xerxes as they decide to extend the day of reckoning for an additional 24 decisive hours.
2023-11-20 21:36:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe Fateful Day Arrives (and One More Day After That)
Talking about a big showdown and violence is one thing, but processing it when it actually happens is another. The author of Esther treats this as an absolute win, but it's still stunning to look at.
Nehemiah books are on order and taking a bit longer to print and ship than usual. The day they arrive here, we'll start packing them up and sending them out for you.
What's the Theme Verse of Esther?
As I'm sitting here getting into chapter 9, I think I'd like to change my previous answer to that question. Let's see what you think.
2023-11-06 16:06:08 +0000 UTC View Post