First Fifteen
Episodes
166 episodes
Give Us a King! (1 Samuel 8)
Israel was unique in the ancient world, but they often struggled with their God who made them unique, and that power struggle is a feature of every person's story. The central question is: Who will be king? 1 Samuel 8 is more than a story about...
In Our Own Eyes (Judges)
The eyes are a window to the heart. Unless we're striving to do what is right in God's eyes, things are not going to go well for us! That's the message in the book of Judges as part of our series on praying Bible stories. Season five is...
Into the Promised Land (Joshua)
What is the secret to standing strong in faith? We see a specific truth about that in the book of Joshua. Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narratives. In our podcast we take time to listen to God...
Psalm 2
The Psalms lead us in prayer and teach us to pray. Listen to Psalm 2 and pray along with it.Want a fuller devotional based on Psalm 2? Listen to it here in season 3 episode ...
Psalm 1
The Psalms lead us in prayer and teach us to pray. Listen to Psalm 1 and pray along with it. Want a fuller devotional based on Psalm 1? Listen to it here in the pilot episod...
The Law, Again (Deuteronomy)
God gave the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. So why did Moses repeat the law again to the children of Israel in Moab 40 years later? We find out in today's episode.Season five is focused on listening to and praying Bible stories or narrati...
In the Wilderness (Numbers 14)
In the wilderness is where God leads, provides, judges and forgives. God gives the Law and tests his people in the wilderness. After Genesis (actually Exodus 13) all of the the action in the next four books of the Torah/Pentateuch happens...
Out of Egypt (Genesis 37-Exodus 18)
Jesus spent time in Africa as a baby, and when the time was full scripture says, "Out of Egypt I called my son." The meaning of that phrase has a deep resonance that reaches back to the prophets (especially Hosea) and then further back to...
How Jacob Became Israel (Genesis 32-33)
How do you deal with someone who is slippery? You're not sure you are getting the full story from them or they seem to have other motives or intentions. Some people are pretty good at plotting and planning and getting the better side of a barga...
The God Who Sees Me (Genesis 16)
The Bible is full of surprises. There is an overarching story that God is directing, and yet he chooses to write it with human characters. Even when they go “off-script”, God’s story will get told, with extra twists and turns included.&...
Abram's Big Blessing - (Gen 11:27-12:20)
When things are going well people sometimes say “I have been so blessed!” Before the blessing comes, though, how do you act, how do you talk, how do you behave? How we act before we receive the blessing shows somet...
The Big Story of the Bible
Stories draw us in. It's hard to resist listening to a good story that is well told. Stories hold our interest. What's less obvious is that stories shape us, inspire us and teach us important truths. There is great untapped power in...
Towering Pride (Genesis 11)
What's the tallest building you've ever seen up close? In Genesis 11 there was a city and a people who decided to build a tower to heaven. Why they did it and what it meant has a deeper meaning than just a story with a moral about t...
It All Comes Flooding Back (Genesis 6:9-9:29)
The Great Flood and Noah’s Ark is a universal story, a familiar tale to many people regardless of their background or religion. In the story of the Bible it is a prominent marker on the path that shows us what God is up to in the world. I...
Live Long and Prosper! (Gen 5:4-6:8)
“Live long and prosper.” The line from Star Trek’s character Spock is a sentiment common to all human cultures. Most people who enjoy any kind of quality of life desire to have a long life. What the Bible says about that chall...
The Plot Thickens (Genesis 4)
Murder. Intrigue. Outrageous behavior. Those sound like elements of a crime story. It’s actually part of the story in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 4. In season five we're listening to Bible stories and learning...
Picture This! (Conversation on Narrative 2)
Most good stories have a strong visual component, and the stories of creation and beginnings in Genesis 1-3 are no different. In this conversation we explore how the first couple is portrayed imaginatively in art as an extended meditation...
The Fall (Genesis 3)
The goodness of creation and the close relationship that man and woman shared with God gets severely tested and ultimately changed because of a series of decisions. Genesis 3 takes us from the ideal state of "everything was good" to a ser...
In the Garden (Genesis 2)
If "In the beginning" is the perfect way to start a story of creation, why not have a flashback and tell the story again but with a close-up camera angle? That's what Genesis 2 does, touching on some of the common themes already introduce...
In the Beginning (Genesis 1)
"In the beginning" seems like the perfect way to start a story, even better than "once upon a time". This is especially so if we're telling a true story about things that really happened that answers some of our deepest, most bas...
Stories that Shape Us (Conversation on Narrative 1)
Do you live a storybook life? Most of us don't. In fact, our daily routines and happenings often seem so ordinary to us that we seek excitement, adventure or escape through songs, movies or stories of other people that attract us (o...
Speak, Lord (1 Samuel 3)
The story of your life can be told with a few words. Your story is really about who you are, where you've come from, what you're overcoming, and where it's all headed. We get the story of Samuel's life in summary form in 1 Samuel 3 ...
Prayer and Prophecy for Parents (1 Samuel 2)
What comes next?! A good story pulls us in and makes us look forward to where we're going next. In the Bible book of 1 Samuel we start with a sad wife who is ridiculed and she becomes a grateful mother through God's goodness. What c...
Reading and Praying through Bible Narrative (1 Samuel 1)
It began with a story. When we were young we listened to stories being told or read to us and it's one of those human activities we never outgrow. Whether in gatherings with family or meetups with friends, at work or afterwards, at ...