We can learn a lot about Abraham's nephew Lot when we look at the progression of how he moved from the center of God's calling to the gatekeeper of Sodom.  It can be hard for us to leave the things we love, even if they are the very things...

In the second half of Genesis 18, we are privy to a conversation between Abraham and the Lord. The conversation can teach us so much about our themes of "God's character" and "the character of humans.  These verse also set the stage for wh...

Sarah has been depending on Abraham's encounters with God for the promise of her long desired son. In Genesis 18, Sarah finally hears it from the mouth of God herself. But she's way past childbirth so this promise seems impossible. In this epis...

In this chapter God shows up and delivers more detail on his covenant plan for Abram than ever before. Abram and Sarai get new names, and the promised son is also given a name. Abram learns that he has something big to do to physically mark him...

 Sarai can't wait on God's plan for a son, so she devises a plan for Abram to have a son through her servant/slave, Hagar. The plan works perfectly, except Sarai isn't happy because now Hagar is treating her badly. The situation unravels f...

This chapter is the detailed covenant between God and Abram. Abram had received a promise from God. But years have passed, some mistakes have been made, some victories won. God reassures Abram of the promise, but Abram's got some questions. Bec...

Chapter 14 of Genesis details an epic battle between an alliance of four kings and a group of 5 kings. Among the losing kings are the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram's nephew Lot is captured so Abram goes after Lot and rescues him. As he ret...

The Old Testament teaches us a lot about the character of God, but also about patterns in humanity. Through the story of Abram we can see how humans often rely on our own solutions, pursue wealth and comfort, but can have remarkable faith. The ...

In this episode we'll cover what we learn about God's character through studying the Old Testament, in particular, His faithfulness to His promises. God appears to Abram at a tree and shows him the land He will give to Abram's descendants. This...

We are making a transition from the story of Adam's line through Noah to the second major story in Genesis - Abram. In these verses Abrams family is described and his movement from his hometown to the land God calls him to is initiated. There a...

It's easy to skip chapters in the Bible dedicated to genealogies. Chapter 10 of Genesis is no exception. But, within this chapter are a few important nuggets that are worth discussion and help lead us into chapter 10, the story of the Tower of ...

Noah is a picture of so much GOOD, and yet, he is flawed. He is not the promised seed, nor are his sons. In this episode, we wrap up the life of Noah with a story of his failure despite his life of obedience.  This story has implications f...

The story of Noah's flood might be familiar to you, but there are some hidden gems when you study the ancient literary techniques used by biblical authors.  One example is found in the story of the flood through a chiastic structure. In th...

The story of Noah and the ark is familiar to many.  But if you read it looking at Noah as a potential promised seed, what emerges is a picture of tremendous obedience in the midst of a wicked world. This episode will peel back the layers o...

It's the open scene for the story of Noah. Remember the classic Bible story of the ark and the animals?  Well, there's an interesting scene description that this story has before it gets started.  There are multiple points in these fi...

Genesis has a few genealogies and in this episode we encounter two of them.  Genealogies can be easy to skip because there doesn't seem to much we can learn from them.  However, the purpose is to trace the lineage of the promised Seed...

The story of Cain and Abel is a familiar one.  it should come as no surprise that murder has consequences.  But have you ever stopped to consider God's character in this story?  What about Cain's? In this episode we'll spend some...

Genesis 3 is a critical chapter to understand the entire Biblical narrative. It's here in these verses where we discover what Adam and Eve did wrong and how God responded.  We learn a lot about who God is as he seeks out the hiding couple ...

Adam and Eve had it all.  A perfect life.  Yet somehow they fell into temptation.  What was it about the conversation with the serpent that led to their disobedience? How could they have been so tempted when they had the perfect ...

When God saw that Adam was lonely he said it was "not good".  So Adam set out to find the perfect companion, but none could be found. Instead, God created a woman out of Adam's side which included his bones and his flesh.  It was an i...

In Genesis 2 the author begins a new narrative.  There's a bit of a retelling of the creation story from Genesis 1, but told with a new purpose.   In this episode we'll talk about how Genesis 2 frames the Garden of Eden.  The Gar...

Genesis 1 can inspire us to spend a lot of time studying, thinking, talking and debating about the how of creation. We know a lot of science and its tempting to spend our energy fitting the puzzle pieces of our origins as told by Genesis togeth...

For many, the creation story feels familiar, but when is that last time you really studied the language of those verses?   Join me in looking at the first few verses of the Bible with fresh eyes.   There are  many ways people try...

In the final few sentences of his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul encourages his congregation to take the Sword of the Spirit and use it.  But what does this mean in practical terms?  This episode focuses on how to use the Bible...

Paul begins to wrap up his letter to the church in Ephesians with some instructions about battle - but not physical battle against the Romans who unoccupied them - spiritual battle.  The instructions to these believers still apply to us to...