I don't remember exactly why I had Jeff (Rooktown Music) whip up this little gem, but I'm glad it happened.
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2022-06-08 16:32:38 +0000 UTC View PostThis is knowable, but it's fun to consider all the angles to get deeper into the story.
Also, another bonus episode coming up this week.
... before things heat up with the final confrontation of the book. We're gong to savor this tender moment before things go nuclear in the story.
I appreciate you, and the wouldn't exist without you.
I still can't get over how different the cadence and style of these old sermons is from what we do everyday together now. I still hope it's fun and useful and we are back to live in a couple of days.
I appreciate you.
... deserve some screen time here because they play an important role in the story.
2022-05-10 13:59:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe five big speeches of Matthew are over, and now we're into the thoughtful, well-paced, conclusion to the story.
And it finishes with a bang. The end of the chapter rounds out at least two chapters worth of thought.
I think 24 and 25 have been the two most challenging passages so far, but I think we've also just about got them in our hip pocket.
Sweet.
...buuuuuuuut it's going to take a little longer than that to sort it through. It just raises so dang many questions, about what I'm doing with my life, that it merits some extra attention.
2022-04-18 23:35:43 +0000 UTC View Post... this one, the wheat and the tares, and the shrewd manager are my favorites. I'm excited to think about this together.
Thank you.
New chapter of Bible this week! We've got two super interesting parables coming up and we're going to have fun with them.
I appreciate you!
This is another one of those places where we have to dig into some of the historical and cultural assumptions Jesus' audience would have brought with them in order to understand what he was saying better. Anytime we're talking about slavery, we are getting into an ugly aspect of human history, but it's an important one and thinking about this will get us to some interesting places.
I appreciate you a lot.
....and into a bunch of clarifying parables. Jesus' teaching in Matthew 24 is hard and could feel overwhelming, but Jesus, who is the all time best at reading his audience, is now going to clarify the big points in ways his audience can understand. I'm ready for this.
2022-03-21 17:29:31 +0000 UTC View Post... we keep the big picture of the book in front of us. I want to make every summary fresh and different so that happens.
Matthew in our hip pocket is the goal.
It's seriously impressive, and it also demonstrates that he's connecting the dots for his listeners on a bunch of narrative arcs from the Old Testament about God using the Nations to judge his people, and then God judging those same Nations for their wickedness.
One of many reasons I'm grateful for you being here and up for the way we're doing this is that we can dive as deep as we need to into everything Jesus seems to be referencing so we can do our best to fully understand his meaning.<...
... is coming into focus pretty nicely I think. Because of the order in which Jesus answers the disciples' questions in Matthew chapter 24, it takes a little bit to unpack what he's actually doing, but after spending a couple of weeks on it I think the whole thing makes a lot of sense. Whether it does or not, we're back to a bunch of Parables later this week. Also I wrote this whole thing using voice recognition, so please pardon any grammatical errors or brontosauruses.
Thanks,
Matt<...
.... to so many different points on the historical timeline, but that's kind of the fun of it. It invites consideration of the grand scheme of history and how the Bible is holding out God as being Master over what might otherwise seem to be scattered chaos. I know Matthew 24 is supposed to be super hard oh, and a cause for consternation for some, but I'm having a lot of fun gaming it out with you my friends.
2022-02-21 21:31:19 +0000 UTC View Post
....as predicted by Jesus regarding the big reckoning the disciples are asking about in Matthew 24. The first two parts of Jesus answer to that question were relatively simple to sort through, and it'll be interesting to see if it gets more complex from here or whether this intimidating passage is maybe more manageable than it seems at first glance.
Also Jeff made music for this one. It made me giggle.
Best,
Matt W.
2022-02-14 05:27:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe disciples are trying to intellectually and socially navigate a very tricky moment for them and a couple of simple questions/ observations take them to a whole new place in their understanding of how this is all going to play out.
The internet is a fun and tricky place. Thanks for being willing to put your name next to mine.
.... with this whole story of the temple in our hip pocket.
(This is the fifth Monday of the month so we don't charge the patrons for this week. We do 48 patron supported weeks of podcast per year).
Thanks for making this podcast happen.
We're talking about what the temple was and why and how it mattered to Matthew's audience so that the last chapters of Matthew will make more sense.
Enjoy!
Here's a link to the formal statement on the issue: https://www.thetmbh.com/statement-regarding-ten-minute-bible-hour-podcast
As several of you have noticed, all but the last 100 episodes of the podcast were offline for the last day or so. YIKES!
TMBH podcast is hosted by a company called Libsyn who has been a super great partner for me here and on my other podcasts. They...
And now it's time to move on to something new and different. Chapter 24 is fascinating and is going to offer a whole new batch of challenges and questions to consider, and I am excited to get going on it in a couple of days.
Thank you!
... then usual, but this is one of those rare places where one's understanding of the text is affected by how a single Greek word is read. As always, I'm optimistic there's more than enough in the context to come away with a very solid sense of the meaning of this passage and of chapter 24, but this still merits a closer look. Also I'm bringing in a ringer to make it more fun.
2022-01-10 22:09:32 +0000 UTC View PostWe resume our quest to wring every last drop out of Matthew 23 this week. I hope the Christmas and New Year season were full of optimism and refreshment for you.
Very good things are ahead.
We did an uncharged Bonus Week the last month so I could take a week of vacation this month, and though I love doing this, boy do I need a week with my family. I'm going to use my spare brain time do some more thinking about what happens later this year when we finished Matthew. There will be a next book oh, and I'm pretty sure I've made a decision as to which one it will be.
I'm grateful to you.
... listening to the bonus advent episodes! It's been great to see how many of you have made time to prepare for the advent celebration together.
Back to Matthew today!
Merry Christmas week friends!
But not from me this time. It's the Pharisees' swearing we're looking at this time around in Matthew 23 as Jesus rebukes them in the third of seven woes.
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See that? We're already making a tough passage fun!
Brave faces friends, we're in Matthew 23!
It's rich and important even if it's crystal clear, well organized and strategic pronouncement of withering criticism.
There's much to gain even from uncomfortable passages like this.
November had five Monday's this year, so I didn't check in at the beginning of the week as I usually do, because this week was a week of the podcast where the Patron's aren't charged. In the past I've ventured away from Matthew on the final week of those five-Monday months and taken a break by publishing a parted-out old sermon of mine, but I find myself not wanting to step away from Matthew at all right now, so the last couple of times we've come upon this calendar anomaly, I've just pressed...
2021-12-04 01:13:07 +0000 UTC View Post... we get to spend together on this every day. And I'm grateful you're up for this deep dive pace.
Thank you.