Welcome to the Surviving the Bible podcast. This is a lectionary podcast not just for pastors or preachers, but for Bible nerds everywhere. Each week Christian and Amy Piatt (from the

This week is Trinity Sunday.

Christian takes a look at Isaiah 6:1-8, John 3:1-17, and Romans 8:12-17. He explains why he hears more of a Pentecost message in these texts, gives us an overview of the themes in this Sunday’s texts, how we are similar to Isaiah and what Isaiah can teach us today, not second-guessing God, leaving the ways we have viewed ourselves and others behind to make room for new life, the rebirth of Isaiah into a spiritual calling, Jesus inviting people into a similar calling, Paul’s explanation of the need to transcend the cycle of inheritance, and the breaking down of divisions and hierarchy.

Plus, the connection to the Pentecost message, being mindful of our role as path-forgers, not gate-keepers, and tearing down barriers between humanity and the divine.

Amy tackles John 3:1-17 and shares what Michaelangelo’s process for sculpting has to do with Nicodemus, the important context for John 3 which a lot of people overlook, what it means to be born of the Spirit, the uncertainty of God’s Spirit, and the shame that prevents us from being reborn.

Welcome to the Surviving the Bible podcast. This is a lectionary podcast not just for pastors or preachers, but for Bible nerds everywhere. Each week Christian and Amy Piatt (from the

This week is Pentecost.

Tripp kicks of with a look at Acts 2:1-21. First, he gives some context for the text (just in case you haven’t been using the Acts texts the past few weeks), then explains how the Kingdom of God has always been the agenda of the Spirit in Luke-Acts, the ongoing investment of the Spirit in the world, how easy it is to get distracted by what Pentecost has come to mean, and our responsibility to the Spirit’s mission. Plus Tripp helps us not to get too freaked out about speaking in tongues by giving us 4 observations about glossolalia that help us in these divisive times.

Christian takes a different look at the Pentecost moment. He shows the similarities between Pentecost and the Last Supper, the openness of the disciples to something from God happening to them, the commissioning of reconciliation, and Christian shares his own Pentecost moment.

Amy is focusing on the Holy Spirit in John 15:26-27 and 16:4b-15. She draws upon 4 of her favorite sources for articulating the experience of and relationship to the Holy Spirit: Romans 8, her daughter Zoe, Richard Rohr, and Frederick Buechner, and asks – will we allow ourselves to be moved by the Spirit, or not? will we allow it to become a part of who we are?

Welcome to the Surviving the Bible podcast. This is a lectionary podcast not just for pastors or preachers, but for Bible nerds everywhere. Each week Christian and Amy Piatt (from the

This week is the seventh Sunday of Easter.

Both Amy and Christian take a look at John 17:6-19 this week, but from very different angles.

Christian focuses on the moment when Jesus asks the gospel messengers to be sanctified and asks: what’s so special about this moment? He talks about the challenge to dualistic thinking, the inseparability of the physical and the divine, where we seek wisdom, meaning, and purpose, accepting our divine role, and what happens when we treat morality like the spoon in the Matrix.

Amy focuses on the very human experience of longing for wholeness. She talks about our desire of being one with God, the struggle we all have for wholeness, living out our unity with God, the highest calling for followers of Jesus, and the obstacles to unity and wholeness. What will make us whole? How do we grow into belonging?

This week is the sixth Sunday of Easter.

Tripp looks at Acts 10:44-48 and explains why this is such an important turning point in the life of the church. First, he helps to set the stage for this text by looking at Peter and Cornelius – the first conversion of a gentile who didn’t have to convert to Judaism first. Then, he gives us some historical context for the inclusion of gentiles and how it disrupted the life of the church, discusses how the Spirit of God moves against tradition and the assumptions of the community (including privileged assumptions about who is included), and what Peter’s courage can teach leaders today.

Christian gets psychological this week. The theme? Growing up and living into the fullness of what we are made to be. Jesus is modeling and inviting us into this life.

• what defines being a grown-up?
• why are we pursuing an obedience to God in the first place?
• what is our motivation?

Christian also talks about the shift from from focusing on bettering ourselves to improving others and the world, self-actualization, meta-cognition, and learning to introspect.

Amy asks if it is possible to be a true friend and not also a servant. In John 15:9-17, Jesus calls his disciples friends. Amy looks at what is significant about this, the both/and of friendship and service, the challenge of true friendship in our society today, the covenant of love, and the consequences of choosing to live a life of love.

This week is the fifth Sunday of Easter.

Tripp takes a look at Acts 8:26-40 – the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. This is the first salvation story of a Gentile and demonstrates to us that the very heart of the gospel reorganizes our relationship to organized religion and tradition and pushes us into a more life-affirming stance. Tripp also offers some context for this story in the larger biblical narrative, the ways we justify excluding people, what this encounter is demonstrating, and how we sometimes serve the text before we serve the spirit.

Christian addresses 1 John 4:7-21. Love, life, Jesus, and God are all intertwined in this passage. Christian draws out some connections between this text and the gospel text, the symbols of the grape vine and branches, and the vulnerability of God and God’s dependence on us, the importance of not just saying we love, but living it out, and helps us understand what perfect love might really mean (and a brief lesson in Greek).

Last week Amy talked about sheep, and this week she’s talking about grapes and wine in John 15:1-8. Amy tells us about the importance of pruning for good fruit, how new vines are planted, and why that is important for reading this passage. Plus, she shares about times in her life when she’s been pruned, what happens when we focus on just one grape instead of the whole vine, and what it means to abide in God.

This week is the fourth Sunday of Easter.

Tripp looks at the Acts 4:5-12 story of Peter healing the lame man. He suggests that if you pay attention to the Acts passage from last week, this story becomes so much larger than how the last verse is usually understood. When understood in its context, it asks some pretty powerful questions, like, what does the word “saved” mean in this text?

It brings to the surface the problems of empire Christianity, how the healing itself confronts ritual purity laws, the sociological category of “sinners,” and challenging to the content of faith, not the form of it.

Christian gives us an overview of this week’s texts and points at some larger themes found therein. We just got through Easter – after a long slog through Lent – and yet here we are, already getting texts about death and darkness. He talks about the shift of leadership and how the sheep have now become the shepherds, disciples performing miracles and deemed a threat to the state, and how there’s so much more to Psalm 23 than just feeling comforted.

Amy tackles John 10:11-18. She gives us a quick lesson about sheep, explores social science about kids on playgrounds, and explains why that’s relevant. Plus, how challenging the boundaries is different than having them removed altogether, why having fewer choices might not be what we need, dismissing people as sheep, and the boundaries of the church (both the good and the bad).

John 20:1-18 | Amy shares the Easter message she would preach, the calling out of Mary’s name and the importance of the act of naming, the significance of Jesus the gardener, opening ourselves to truth, being broken open by suffering, what we’ve missed about the resurrection, and how it relates to Genesis 3.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 | Tripp shares his frustration with this passage and how this (and others) are used to kick people out for not ‘believing’ the correct thing, the invitation to be resurrected, the urgency of the message, and can you believe God really does anything?

Acts 10:34-43 | Tripp tries to convince Amy that this is the text she should preach on Easter, the resurrection as the rupture of Peter’s understanding of the gospel, how the proper affirmation of the resurrection removes the barriers to our embodied existence, and being witnesses to transformation.

Plus, Christ is risen, he is risen indeed? Who are our Easter services for?

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

In Isaiah 7:10-14, Christian tells us about the scandal of particularity, and being participants in Easter without making it about us. Then Tripp and Amy turn to the triumphal entry in Mark 11:1-11 and how we’ve lost the significance of Palm Sunday, the messianic secret and the turn towards Jerusalem, the contrast between Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the Roman Army’s entry before Passover, the real threat Jesus poses, and the conflict of two different types of power.

Plus, how throwing a party that celebrates our ignorance is good news, David and Goliath as the opening match for Jesus and Pilate, the power at play in re-reading a text, and the anxiety surrounding our own agency and the possibility of transformation.

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

This week on the LectioCast Tripp gives you your Bible-nerd fact of the day, you’ll hear about why David is like the Harvey Weinstein of the Hebrew Bible, what Mandy Moore has to do with the Psalms, and our avoidance of suffering.

First up, Jeremiah 31:31-34. Tripp once again gives you many options for preaching this text: who has access to God in the new covenant? the tension between institutions and movements, the democratization of God, the deep political divisions latent in the passage, and how new life is stymied by needing to be right in that divide.

In the Psalm (51:1-12) we see David’s internal struggle and our uncomfortability with God using someone like David for something good. For Hebrews 5:5-10, Tripp helps explain how the text can short-circuit latent penal-substitutionary atonement interpretations by noticing what it doesn’t say, how Jesus’ faithfulness helps re-frame our understanding of sin and salvation, and how Jesus changes the job description of high priest.

Lastly, in John 12:20-33, Christian and Amy talk about our inability to recognize the truth right in front of us, the requirements of transformation, what is truly necessary to be born again, and hurting for the right reasons. Plus, Amy gives some advice and reasons for engaging in contemplative practices.

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

They’ll also tackle the most important verse in the whole bible: John 3:16. Plus, those other ones nearby: John 3:14-21. Why do we so often life this passage out of context and use it as a test of faith? How can we avoid using this text to harass people? Plus the way John connects the cross with the snake in numbers.

Lastly, Ephesians 2:1-10. What is the difference between grace and mercy? Do we often miss the really radical part of grace? How does this text help us shift our economic understandings of how grace and mercy work?

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

If you want to join the Surviving the Bible for Lent group, it’s not too late!

Sure, we all know Bible verses and may have even tried to read the “whole Bible,” maybe even more than once. But it can be confusing, contradictory and – if we’re being honest – really freaking boring in places. But there’s another way to approach scripture that can actually make sense, and might even be enjoyable.

Join the CultureCast’s Amy and Christian Piatt, along with Tripp, in figuring out how to “Survive the Bible” together this Lent.

• The 10 commandments – what are we supposed to do with them? What if they are descriptive not prescriptive?
• Is Jesus cleansing the temple righteous anger or something else?
• Did Jesus break one of the commandments?

Plus, the importance of giving up the rules, our identities, our titles – anything we’ve created that we’re attached to, the completeness of God’s law in the Psalm, and the transrational nature of the crucifixion.

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

If you want to join the Surviving the Bible for Lent group, it’s not too late!

Sure, we all know Bible verses and may have even tried to read the “whole Bible,” maybe even more than once. But it can be confusing, contradictory and – if we’re being honest – really freaking boring in places. But there’s another way to approach scripture that can actually make sense, and might even be enjoyable.

Join the CultureCast’s Amy and Christian Piatt, along with Tripp, in figuring out how to “Survive the Bible” together this Lent.

• can we reconcile a Christus Victor christology with a willingly vulnerable God/Christ?
• what does it mean to call Jesus the Christ?
• was Jesus really tempted?

They also cover the ways these texts have been used to justify suffering, oppression, and abuse, the covenant between God and Abraham, the genesis of the Genesis passage, how the mistranslation of one of the proper names of God radically changes our understanding of the passage, and the importance of the maternal lineage and parental role of God in these passages.

Plus everyone wrestles with Paul about the difference between Law and Covenant

And don’t forget you can enter to win some sweet new bibles from our friends at the Common English Bible.

If you want to join the Surviving the Bible for Lent group, it’s not too late!

Sure, we all know Bible verses and may have even tried to read the “whole Bible,” maybe even more than once. But it can be confusing, contradictory and – if we’re being honest – really freaking boring in places. But there’s another way to approach scripture that can actually make sense, and might even be enjoyable.

Join the CultureCast’s Amy and Christian Piatt, along with Tripp, in figuring out how to “Survive the Bible” together this Lent.

• Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling
• Derrida’s The Gift of Death
• Gerhard von Rad’s Genesis, Revised Edition: A Commentary
• James Kugel’s The Bible As It Was

The texts for the week include Jesus getting hardcore with his disciples in Matthew 10:24-39, Paul talking about participation in Christ in Romans 6:1-11, and one of the most terrifying texts of all scripture, Genesis 21:8-21. If you dare to tackle the Genesis text then you really need to go read the Phyllis Trible chapter on it in the book below. It’s so good you might cry.

During the episode I mention a couple of books including…

• Romans (Chalice Commentaries for Today) by David Lull and John Cobb
• Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading by Warren Carter
• Texts of Terror:Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives by Phyllis Trible

The good Doctor Daniel Kirk is on a road trip across the country with Clan Kirk, but no need to fear your Lectiocast is still here! It is an honor to fill in for Daniel and talk some lectionary goodness. We will see how long it takes before Daniel quits his trip and gets me off the show, but for now I am excited.

During the podcast I discuss the four lectionary texts for the week and the questions I imagine inspiring my sermonizing…if I was still working in a pulpit.

For each of the texts I pulled out some questions that could drive a sermon. Here’s a few of them.

Matthew 28:16-20
* Where is Galilee today?

The Spirit enables Jesus’s followers to speak to all the devout Jews, reconfiguring our understanding of “devout,” forcing us to reimagine who it is that belongs to the inner circle of the people of God.

Acts 2:1-21 The Spirit of God comes as an image of eschatological judgment and of eschatological salvation, surprising us all with its redefinition of the people of God.

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 God’s disassembly of our presumed social hierarchies begins with God’s own involvement with the people and extends through our being united to each other and transformed in the body of Christ.

Numbers 11:24-30 The uncontrollable nature of the Spirit of God has always been a characteristic of its work. As much as we might want to control it, God wants it to burst beyond our expectations. So, of course, it does.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b God’s spirit is the breath of life. God’s presence is an earth-shattering event.

John 20:19-23 In John’s “Pentecost,” the disciples are equipped by the Spirit for a mission of self-giving love and representation of God to the world. 

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

After Jesus got that resurrection body, God wasn’t done. The resurrected Jesus is exalted, enthroned, and glorified. Because Jesus receives God’s glory, we get to as well. 

Acts 1:6-14 God might not be restoring the kingdom to Israel, but God is restoring the kingship of the earth to humanity. The disciples will know it when they receive the same power Jesus had at their baptism by the Spirit.

Psalm 68:1-10, 33-35 The idea of God having enemies to conquer doesn’t sound that great, until we realize that they’re the ones who kept the orphans homeless and the widows penniless. The God who rides on the clouds finds echoes in the ascension of Jesus.

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 People who follow Jesus should expect to embody the Jesus story. That means suffering and resurrection. That means having to trust God when we would otherwise be anxious. Same thing.

John 17:1-11 God restores Jesus’s glory. The heavenly future comes down into the present. And we, too, get to bear the glory of God in Christ. We, too, get to know the oneness of the divine union. 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jesus has been raised. I think this means we don’t have to worry about crazy passages from 1 Peter. 

Acts 17:22-31 Paul unravels the narrative of polytheism, claiming for one God a unique place of sovereignty and honor. And then he pulls in a Jesus juke at the end to call for repentance. Masterful.

Psalm 66:8-20 God gets a lot of credit here, maybe more than we’re comfortable ascribing to a loving deity: bringing us through nets and piling up burdens before finally delivering. But it works well as a story of Jesus. Try it on.

1 Peter 3:13-22 For the second time this week we have to dodge models for doing apologetics. Fortunately there are some good distractions: like stories of fallen angels going to prison and being taunted by Jesus, stories told to provoke confidence that God will be victorious over his people’s enemies.

John 14:15-21 Get ready to have your brain scrambled by a Jesus/Spirit/Father/follower mind-meld. And all of it is known and done through a Christological reorientation of what it looks like to be the people of God.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jesus. This week is all about Jesus. Jesus reconfiguring the identity of the people of God. Jesus receiving God’s vindication in the face of humanity’s rejection of him. Jesus holding the identity that we get to share in: living stones, the one in whom the father is at work so that the father might be glorified.

Acts 7:55-60 Stephen relives the Jesus story: condemned as a blasphemer of the Temple, he raises the ire of the leadership by proclaiming Jesus as the son of man at God’s right hand. He entrusts his spirit to God even as he forgives his persecutors in the face of death. Jesus’s followers are little Christs. 

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 Shame is found in abandonment. Honor and exaltation are found in deliverance. The New Testament’s boldest move is to claim honor and exaltation for those who go to death in service of God.

1 Peter 2:2-10 Children who long for the milk that begot them, little Christs who are living stones like Jesus, priests who minister spiritual sacrifices that replace the Temple. A multi-faceted articulation of our identity as the people of God, with a little supersessionism thrown in for good measure.

John 14:1-14 Knowing Jesus is knowing God. And knowing Jesus is knowing the one and only way to God. And knowing Jesus being made into the likeness of Jesus and God so that God will be glorified by what we do. It’s all very confusing.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The resurrected Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep. And the community of the Good Shepherd is one where people radically reconfigure how they spend their money. Are we ready for that kind of discipleship? Are we ready to form those kinds of communities?

Acts 2:42-47 The message we most need to hear, the message we least want to heed: they had everything in common, they created a distinctive community, and everyone loved it.

Psalm 23 The Shepherding Lord: David’s, Jesus’s, and ours.

1 Peter 2:19-25 The cross of Christ tells us about God, and about us. It calls us to do right, no matter what the cost, trusting the God who judges justly. Oh, and that cross? We can think of what it does in about a hundred different ways.

John 10:1-10 The good shepherd makes sure the sheep are well tended. The declaration that he brings abundant life holds up a mirror to us, asking if we’ll actually believe that handing everything into his care will lead to the abundance of life we crave.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The crucifixion is humanity’s attempt to say No to God’s anointed Lord and Christ. The resurrection is God’s mighty Yes to Jesus, and God’s continuing Yes to humanity as well. 

Acts 2:14a, 36-41 God continues to say YES in the face of humanity’s feeble NO. God says YES to Jesus, and God continues to say YES to Israel and to humanity as a whole.

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 Here we see the daring of God who is willing to have God’s own praiseworthiness tied to the actions of God on the earth. 

1 Peter 1:17-23 We become part of a new family by being begotten anew: the power at work in Jesus’s resurrection is at work in us to give us new life. That new life means a new way of being, putting to death who we were before.

Luke 24:13-35 Who is the only one who (doesn’t) know? Jesus walks and talks and stirs the hearts of the disciples. But their eyes are only opened and Jesus is only revealed in the breaking of bread. Oh, and don’t you dare pine away for knowing what Jesus said on the road.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Psalm 16 Quoted by Peter, as fulfilled in Jesus. Bodies matter, and the pleasures that they enable us to experience.

1 Peter 1:3-9 Our future has been revealed, and yet, it’s hidden and waiting to be revealed as well. Perhaps our comfort has occluded our ability to see what we truly need and desire: communion with each other and with God.

John 20:19-31 God doesn’t just hit “reset,” Jesus is walking through the real business of reconciliation. Reconciliation demands confrontation. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, fear is. Then there’s this other opposite: killing as power and resurrection as power. We have to figure out how to live out the self-giving love with which we’re called to love the world.

 Jay Emerson Johnson, Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Pacific School of Religion, is an Episcopal priest and has served congregations in the Midwest and the San Francisco Bay Area. He came to PSR as a staff member at the school’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS) in 2003 and began teaching courses for the school’s Certificate of Sexuality and Religion program. In addition to numerous articles on sexuality, Christian theology, and spirituality, he is the author of Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope (2005). More recently he is the author of Divine Communion: A Eucharistic Theology of Sexual Intimacy (2013) and Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness (2014).

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

How high was the early church’s Christology? Daniel is on this podcast to talk about his new book A Man Attested by God, and answers this very question. This book is a bit oppositional. The Good Doctor is taking on very trendy New Testament scholars and early church theologians around the emergence of a high Christology early in the history of the church. He discusses:

• Why have these early high Christologies become so popular?
• What is the place of Jesus’ humanity?
• How did we even end up with these gospels in the first place?
• And what makes Jesus unique and distinct?

Tripp also has three very big concerns about Daniel’s book, since Daniel had three very big concerns about Tripp’s book (which you can purchase in ebook form for $2.99 along with the HBC Guide to God and End Times…)

Are you a youth minister? Make sure to sign up for the FREE Open and Relational Youth Ministry video course. You also text OPENYOUTH to 44222 to get all of the content to help you overcome the biggest challenges you face as a youth minister.

If you want to help support the podcast, head over to homebrewedcommunity.com now and become a member today. Not only will you get a sweet ecclesiastical title, but you’ll also get all sorts of perks and insider access to Homebrewed content. If you become a member in April you’ll get the Process Theology Bootcamp Tripp did with John Cobb and Jay McDaniel. That’s over six hours of zesty goodness. Plus, you’ll get to experience the joy of supporting the only theology podcast that gives you ingredients to brew your own faith.

He is risen indeed!

Acts 10:34-43 The radical social practice of table fellowship: showing us how broad is God’s desire for communion with people. The gospel erases the boundary lines we otherwise see as normal and even critical for our survival. 

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 God is greater than empire: the rejected stone has become the chief. And this is what makes people thankful.

Colossians 3:1-4 Christ’s past is our future, which becomes our present as well. Our unknown future becomes a present reality that has immense power to surprise us.

John 20:1-18 Stories that draw us together, even when they show us that we have to struggle through conflict. And new creation is dawning in the garden of resurrection. The exalted Jesus embraces the disciples into his relationship with the Father.

 Jay Emerson Johnson, Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Pacific School of Religion, is an Episcopal priest and has served congregations in the Midwest and the San Francisco Bay Area. He came to PSR as a staff member at the school’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS) in 2003 and began teaching courses for the school’s Certificate of Sexuality and Religion program. In addition to numerous articles on sexuality, Christian theology, and spirituality, he is the author of Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope (2005). More recently he is the author of Divine Communion: A Eucharistic Theology of Sexual Intimacy (2013) and Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness (2014).

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 50:4-9a The teacher is called to sustain the weary, even as he suffers the indignities of rejection. But shame is not the story, because vindication comes from God.

Psalm 31:9-16 Untimely death: it’s the experience of the person who has been rejected and is the source of plots against his life. It’s a story of trust in God—but will the trust be rewarded?

Philippians 2:5-11 The Christ hymn shows us how to be human. The mind of Christ enacts the humble trusts that God rewards, exalts, and glorifies. The “form,” or “image” of God is God’s gift to give.

Matthew 26:14-27:66 From Judas’s agreement to betray Jesus, through the tomb made secure, this week’s Gospel text takes us through the whole passion story. There we find trifectas of failure, Jesus’s complete abandonment, and the paradoxical fulfillment of Jesus’s calling through his death on the cross.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Ezekiel 37 The Great Zombiepocalypse is one of the most arresting scenes in the whole Bible. A beautiful mixture of resurrection, return from exile, and new creation, it teems with images of life and of God’s creative love. 

John 11 The resurrection and the life are not just for the eschaton. Jesus makes the future present. Life is a gift here and now. And the resurrection of the beloved disciple proves it.

Romans 8 If you know any measure of holiness then you know a taste of the resurrection life to come. To set our minds on the Spirit of God is to enter into the life that God is holding for us in the future. It is to be empowered by the life-giving Spirit who also raised Jesus from the dead.

Psalm 130 Why should God be feared? Because of a strict accounting of justice? Because of retribution that comes when we sin? How about because of forgiveness? How about because of the redemption that God gives to God’s people?

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The scripture passages this week bring us into a world of light: of light that shines so that we can see. Or, perhaps, shows us how we have been seeing people without perceiving them rightly in more ways than we are comfortable admitting. Seeing the light and becoming the light means allowing Jesus to reinterpret the world for us. In that world turned upside down we might even find that we’re sitting down to a feast, prepared by the Lord Shepherd, and looking into the eye of our enemy, who eats and drinks with us in the Kingdom of God. 

John 9:1-41 “I see you.” Everyone thinks they see, but seeing Jesus rightly only comes with seeing rightly the blind beggar whom folks ignore every day. Be careful: we just might be the Pharisees.

Ephesians 5:8-14 Light and darkness are more than personal piety, they are systems of power and weakness, of empire and subjugation. We shine as we become little Christs. 

1 Samuel 16:1-13 God has plans for Israel, plans that the house of Jesse thought were the eighth best of eight options. God has a rebuke for our tendency to make snap judgments rather than learning about a person’s heart. But maybe David’s a flawed hero himself.

Psalm 23 “The table is the most important piece of furniture in the kingdom of God.” And a table set before the face of enemies can only be a place of communion across lines of difference.

Jon Huckins. is a pastor and the Co-Founding Director of The Global Immersion Project; a  peacemaking training organization helping individuals and communities move toward conflict equipped to heal rather than to win. Jon with his co-founder Jer Swigart is author of the forthcoming Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World which you can pre-order right now for less than $10 on Amazon. He writes for numerous publications including USAToday, Red Letter Christians, Sojourners, and RELEVANT. Jon also co-leads a Christian intentional community in his neighborhood of Golden Hill in San Diego. Find him at jonhuckins.net, on twitter @jonhuckins and on facebook.com/jon.huckins.1.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In times of hunger and thirst, do we trust God to be present? Do we trust God to provide? Do we believe that this is the path to eternal life rather than a roadblock keeping us from it? 

Genesis 17:1-7 The people grumble and test and complain. But only because they were worried about dying of thirst. God doesn’t just give them water: God gives them Godself.

Psalm 95 God as the rock of salvation: the rock from whom waters come when needed. God as the God worth trusting because God has made everything.

Romans 5:1-11 Justification doesn’t take away the suffering, but the suffering is part of the promise of glory. Be at peace with God: because God has already reconciled us. 

John 4:5-42 The woman at the well is willing to ask for what she needs, and is willing to see Jesus offering it. Jesus doesn’t seem to mind that he’s hungry or thirsty because he knows what God is up to.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

From Abram to Jesus to the inclusion of the Gentiles we are called into a story of utter dependence on God: trusting God to do for us what we would otherwise try to do for ourselves. 

Genesis 12:1-4a Abram has to leave behind everything that should provide for him. God promises a blessing that is too big for Abram to control or contain. 

Psalm 121 A psalm of trust in God’s holistic care. Where does our help come from? Are we willing to give ourselves to the God who made heaven and earth?

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 The inclusion of the Gentiles means rereading the story of Abraham. Abraham is blessed through his trust. Abraham trusts the God whom Paul preaches: the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.

Matthew 17:1-9 Remember when Jesus refused to bite during those satanic temptations to explore what “son of God” might mean for him? God honors that trust, and will honor it again in Jesus’s resurrection.

John 3:1-17 Nicodemus gets Jesus talking. Dependence on God, trust in God, comes to its ultimate manifestation in the need to be born from above, by the Spirit, in order to see the Kingdom. Scary as that might be, it’s a stipulation held in the hands of the God who sent His Son into the world to save it, rather than condemn. This God can be trusted.

Books discussed this week: JRD Kirk, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Lent begins. And we are invited into the ancient practice of fasting. Fasting does not mean adding a new practice, but shedding a practice for the purpose of deepening our trust in God. The stories of Jesus and of Adam and Eve invite us to consider what sorts of props we have erected to hold ourselves up rather than entrusting ourselves into the hands of God. Will we give these up for Lent?

Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus pulls off what neither Adam nor Israel were able to do before him: and he reaps the rewards of it in the end. 

Genesis 2, 3 The question of trust: will we trust God or will we accept and perpetuate and create alternative interpretations of the world? 

Psalm 32 It looks like God is more willing to forgive us than we are. Read here an invitation to confession, maybe to recognizing the need to confess as generated by Lenten fasting.

Romas 5:12-19 Adam and Jesus: alike in representation, way different in results! Here’s your big chance to be a universalist if you want to take it.

Books discussed this week: Danielle Shroyer, Original Blessing

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

God breaks into the present: with a glory that humans embody. The Lectionary sets us up with a series of interlocking texts that richly inform one another.

Exodus 24:12 Moses goes up a mountain, as do Elijah and Jesus after him. God meets Moses in the cloud, and tabernacle and glory ensue.

Psalm 2 If we want to know what God’s words to Jesus mean, we first have to listen to what God’s words meant when spoken to Israel’s king. Handle’s Messiah, anyone?

Matthew 17:1-9 Rampant parallels with the Exodus text and other OT passages. Critical parallel with the baptism scene. Jesus is being disclosed in his future, post-resurrection, God-given, enthronement glory. (Thank God for hypens!)

2 Peter 1:16-21 Go crazy with eyewitness testimony that’s not, actually, being given by an eyewitness! 

Books discussed this week: The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the End Times.

Jeffrey C. Pugh is the Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies at Elon College. His scholarly work has spanned the spectrum from Nazi-era theologians Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to discussions of religion and science. He is the author of several books including Devil’s Ink: Blog from the Basement Office and Religionless Christianity: Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Troubled Times. Most recently and most importantly he is author of The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the End Times.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

It’s a great week to get fired! So preach Leviticus 19 and tell people what it actually says. 

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 We all know the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But what does that love look like? And how might that love manifest itself in subversion of the expectations of market capitalism?

Psalm 119:33-40 The Psalm has a place. It is spoken by a power. And it invites us to call God to account.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 What, or who, is the temple of God? And how does the answer to that question subvert our view of the world and our response to it?

Matthew 5:38-43 Revisionist interpretation brings us to dangerous ground. In a world where people are abused and lynched, what does faithfully turning the other cheek look like? And, #HeresyAlert Jesus might have a thing or two to learn about Gentiles before this story is through. 

Books mentioned this week:

Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wil Gafney. 

The Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel and co-editor of The Peoples’ Bible and The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible.  She is an Episcopal Priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and licensed in the Diocese of Fort Worth. A former member of the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Center in Philadelphia, she has co-taught courses with and for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary in Wyncote, PA.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

How does a Christian walk in the ways of God, loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do we do this by obeying the Law? Or by following Jesus? Or both?

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 How is the Abrahamic covenant realized? How is the land possessed and the seed multiplied? Faithfulness to the commandments. This is what loving God looks like. Its alternative, the way of death, is idolatry. 

Sirach 15:15-20 Take a walk on the wild side, and preach from the best free will passage in the whole Bible!

Psalm 119:1-8 Celebrating the Law is great—except for a people who don’t. When the way of following God has become the way of the crucified Christ and the way of finding no shame has become entrusting ourselves to the gospel for both Jew and Greek, where does that leave our readings of Psalm 119?

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 The cross makes the world’s wisdom look foolish. Our own party spirit and hovering around heroes shows just how far we are from taking up the side of the crucified Christ rather than the side of the ignorant rulers of this age.

Matthew 5:21-37 Jesus fulfills the law—but not by doing it or by telling us what it really meant all along. A new type of community has to form in which love of God is shown by a love of neighbor that begins in the heart.

Books mentioned this week:

Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? by the one and only jrdk 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

We are the light of the world. And the very things we do in service to God can be the darkness that obscures the light just as easily as the light that dispels the gloom.

Isaiah 58:1-12 Don’t be hoodwinked by acts of piety that don’t bring life to your neighbor.

Psalm 112:1-9 Celebrating people who are… like Isaiah suggests. Are they like us?

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) When crucifixion becomes an adverb the wisdom of God is at work.

Matthew 5:13-20 Time to retrieve the southernism “Y’all,” and get about the business of being the kind of people who put God’s glory light on display.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

If you want to know what people expect of God, listen to what they think blessing looks like. Epiphany continues to challenge us to look for and recognize God in the places we spurn and despise—even though these are usually our own places.

Matthew 5:1-12 Do we really aspire to the Kingdom depicted in the Beatitudes? Do we really trust God to work like that? 

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Jesus wasn’t the only one advocating an upside-down, cruciform Kingdom. Paul challenges us as those who too often have a faith devoid of power that we attempt to make wise according to the wise of the world.

Micah 6:1-8 Do we trust God enough to live into the reality of God being savior? What sort of saved people are we to be? The way of the Beatitudes finds resonance here.

Psalm 15:1-5 What kind of person does God want us to be? What kind of worshipper can come into God’s presence? Do we trust God enough to live into an upside down economy where interest isn’t charged for dollars lent? 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 9:1-4 Overcoming gloom: a beautiful picture of hope. But the reality is… Second Grade. Am I right?

Psalm 27:1, 4-9 There’s a rhythm of salvation and distress. And maybe a bit of uncertainty about whether that rhythm will recur. Then there’s the question of how we don’t get caught in a Temple/attractional model of discovering the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Living out of an abundance narrative is a cornerstone of avoiding tribalism. Scarcity and tribalism are destroying us. First Corinthians might have some answers.

Matthew 4:12-23 A series of portraits about what the light looks like. A different kind of kingdom bigger than Cesar and Temple. Israel will not circumscribe the work of the Messiah.

Fine literature discussed this week:

Doug Pagitt, Flipped

Shalom Auslander, Foreskin’s Lament

J. R. Daniel Kirk, A Man Attested by God

Doug Pagitt is the founding pastor of Solomon’s Porch, A Holistic Missional Christian Community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a national Initiator with Convergence a collective of faith-engaged organizations, individuals, institutions, and networks who seek to embody a generous and just Christian ethos leading to constructive collective action in the United States. Doug is a speaker and consultant for churches, denominations, and businesses throughout the United States and around the world on issues of Inventive Age culture, social systems Christianity, and Leadership. He is the author of books on spirituality, Christianity and leadership including, Flipped, Preaching In the Inventive Age, and A Christianity Worth Believing.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 49:1-7 The work of the servant is playing out in plain sight: but God’s people aren’t seeing it, and God doesn’t seem to be honoring it. Will we know the work of God when we see it? God makes God’s glory and light known in people.

Psalm 40:1-11 Does God require sacrifice? Psalm 40 takes sides in this intratestamental dispute. God doesn’t need it! Do we demand it?

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 First Corinthians keeps us grounded. Where do we look to find the work of God? The holy ones are all around us.

John 1:29-42 John’s energy opens the story up for us, casting massive vision that explodes beyond the borders of our careful word-smithing. But what sort of Lamb is Jesus? 

Fine literature discussed this week:

Doug Pagitt, Flipped

Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians

Gordon Fee,  The First Epistle to the Corinthians (rev. ed.)

Anthony Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NIGTC)

J. R. Daniel Kirk, A Man Attested by God 

Doug Pagitt is the founding pastor of Solomon’s Porch, A Holistic Missional Christian Community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a national Initiator with Convergence a collective of faith-engaged organizations, individuals, institutions, and networks who seek to embody a generous and just Christian ethos leading to constructive collective action in the United States. Doug is a speaker and consultant for churches, denominations, and businesses throughout the United States and around the world on issues of Inventive Age culture, social systems Christianity, and Leadership. He is the author of books on spirituality, Christianity and leadership including, Flipped, Preaching In the Inventive Age, and A Christianity Worth Believing.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The baptism of Jesus is one of the most perplexing, challenging passages in the Gospels. We can shine a little light on it, but only if we’re willing to distinguish Jesus from God, recognizing God as the empowering agent who also marks with the Spirit as God’s beloved children.

Isaiah 42:1-9 The servant in whom God is pleased receives the Spirit, brings justice, heals the sick, and eventually suffers and dies. In this, the covenant with Israel shines forth for the good of the nations.

Psalm 29  The God who speaks at Jesus’ baptism the king who sits enthroned above the waters. God’s voice is powerful—and that power is bestowed on Jesus.

Acts 10:34-43 The arrival of God’s Spirit tells us that God has accepted, and celebrated, the people to whom it comes. This is true of those who believe the message as it was, first, about Jesus.

Matthew 3:13-17 Jesus begins his public ministry in solidarity with other people, and receives Spirit and power and sonship and divine approval that he will share in solidarity with us. 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Happy New Year! God is with us in a solidarity more profound than most of us ever dare to imagine.

Isaiah 63:7-9 Getting wrapped up in the fulness of God’s blessing: unmediated, direct blessing. God shows up in God’s love. With an awesome digression on the Abraham story. 

Psalm 148  A picture of the cosmos. Which my youth group confused. But… Here’s the deal: the God who has unlimited scope also loves and cares for us as God’s own people. 

Hebrews 2:10-18 “With us.” Jesus isn’t separated, but part of this throng of people. And this throng of people is those who need to trust God—just like Jesus did. Solidarity is the deep wisdom of what Jesus did on the cross.

Matthew 2:13-23 Jesus in solidarity with the story of Israel. Jesus lives the cost of human life in this world. 

This week on LectioCast we mentioned…

These awesome books:

Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land  and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

For God to be savior, God has to be at work. Together we delve into the work that God must do if God is to be honored and celebrated as savior. And we get wrapped up in the saving work, not only as objects, but as active participants. 

Isaiah 52:7-10 What kind of good news are we talking about here? Can the power of God be redeemed by the outstretched arm of Luke Cage?

Psalm 98  God reigns. God is judge. And the people celebrate. Again. In part, people celebrate because God remembers.

Hebrews 1:1-12 A great story is unfolding: a story in which Jesus is better than the great things that have come before. And maybe not only Jesus but also humans are greater than the angels.

John 1:1-14 John’s gospel proclamation is bigger and better than whatever you think he’s saying. And the greatest surprise of all is that we, too, get to share in the life of the family of God.
This week on LectioCast we mentioned some truly exceptional pieces of literature:

Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land  and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

An annual reminder that God has chosen to be in relationship with us before we could do anything in response. In the person of Jesus we are given the incarnate presence of God’s deepest blessing with us. And to that blessing we said no. And yet God continues to call us into the relationship God has established. 

Isaiah 62:6-12 God draws us into the place of blessing, where God has come before us. And we have to read it from below.

Psalm 97  God is king. God will judge. Ready to celebrate? Is this good news?

Titus 3:4-7 Danielle wants you to preach Titus. Again! And Jennifer Knapp makes a surprise guest appearance. Salvation is all about God’s goodness.

Luke 2:1-20 Returning to where we were last time… There’s a danger to registration that we might have fresh appreciation for this year.

This week on LectioCast we mentioned…

This awesome organization: The Global Immersion Project

This mystery song: Jennifer Knapp, Trinity

This week on LectioCast we mentioned some truly exceptional pieces of literature:

Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land  and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 9:2-7 The birth of Jesus echoes the birth of an earlier king, a previous “mighty God, everlasting father.” Let that mess with your Christology! 

Psalm 96  God’s plan of salvation is SO MUCH BIGGER than human salvation. The whole creation is wrapped up in God’s saving work. Do we live in such a way the the whole cosmos would see our life as a cause of celebration?

Titus 2:11-14 Danielle thinks you should preach this on Christmas. Be brave! Do it! There’s a deep call to transformation as well as God’s grace embodied in the person of Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20 There’s a danger to registration that we might have fresh appreciation for this year.

This week on LectioCast we mentioned some truly exceptional pieces of literature:

Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land  and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Are we sure we know what we’re waiting for? God is faithful, and God is full of surprises.

• Isaiah 7:10-16 Your favorite Jesus prophecy that originally had nothing to do with Jesus! So, what does this mean about who Jesus is and what salvation means
• Matthew 1:18-25 An invitation to imagine what salvation looks like—and letting Matthew show us. What does “Immanuel” mean here? What does it mean that God is with us? What does a people look like who have been rescued from their sins?
• Romans 1:1-7 God is faithful. That’s the Advent hope. Christ has been born, and Christ has been enthroned.
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 A final advent plea: are You coming or not?

In this special episode I get to ask three world-class theologians five questions about preaching and teaching the Bible. Here they are. And they are four in number:

1. Can we say Jesus is Lord in a post-patriarchal context?

2. How do you know when to stay with a church or denomination? How do you know when to go?

3. What can pastors do to start mainstreaming the basic idea that the gospel transforms how we should think about and deploy power?

4. What are some things preachers can do to start chipping away at the idea that God has a penis?

The answers are insightful as you’d expect and wonderfully wide-ranging. Add this grist to your weekly sermon prepcrastination mill.

What time is it? Where are we in the unfolding narrative of God’s story of promise and deliverance? Isaiah and Jesus each show us what the time of arrival looks like. With Isaiah we look for a time yet to come. With Jesus we remember that the time has already arrived.

Isaiah 35:1-10 An exuberant picture of divine rescue that far outstrips everything we see around us. A picture to give us hope that what is death-dealing today can be life-giving tomorrow. 

Matthew 11:2-11 Isaiah’s vision finds its initial fulfillment in Jesus. The time is now.

Psalm 145:5-10 We know that God is at work when we see the sorts of things happening that Isaiah promised and that God enacted.

James 5:7-10 Patience is not passive.

This week on LectioCast we mentioned some truly exceptional pieces of literature:

Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Unlocking Romans by J. R. Daniel Kirk

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Mihee Kim-Kort is a Presbyterian minister and spouse to another Presbyterian minister. She is a mother to three, and in her spare time reads, writes books, blogs and freelances for various publications. Sometimes, she tries something random like woodworking or brush lettering, but ends up on social media procrastinating from writing. She is passionate about the intersections between parenting, justice, and spirituality.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Our calling is to live out the Advent story. We are supposed to be the people who put on full display for the world the acceptance with which God has embraced us. We are the people of Abraham’s children raised from stone, we are the people in whom the lion and lamb lie down together, we are the people of Jew and Gentile accepted while we were yet sinners, we are the people showing Jesus’s kingship through our justice among one another.

Matthew 3:1-12 The preacher whom people seek: not in town, out in the wilderness, where God might be reenacting the exodus, promising an outward moving potential of embrace.

Isaiah 11:1-10 How do we wait for something that has already arrived? The kingdom Isaiah envisions cannot be coerced, it can only be inhabited. It begins by reimagining what the Spirit empowers us for.

Psalm 72 A kingship worth celebrating in its justice and judgment. How do we allow the story to reframe our understanding of Jesus being king? What would a kingship of God look like on the earth?

Romans 15:4-13 Hope. Peace with one another enacts the hope we seek to take hold of. We are the people whom Isaiah 4 saw. Watch out for the “just as…”

Jason’s book: Cancer is Funny: Keeping Faith in Stage-Serious Chemo 

Jason Micheli is a United Methodist pastor in Northern Virginia. He claims that his years in the academy
have done him not a whole world of good, claiming, “I’m now the least well-rounded person in the world, having studied theology at UVA and from Princeton. Seriously, I’ve got no skills apart from parsing Greek nouns and obscure theological categories.” You can find his writing at tamedcynic.com and his book, Cancer is Funny, on Amazon

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 2:1-5.  When God exalts God’s people, the economy of the world is transformed. The military industrial complex surrenders to the agricultural economy of life-giving work. This word goes out and the peoples come in.

Psalm 122 Celebrating God’s presence as: a place, a place where righteous judgment is administered, a place where our sisters and brothers dwell, a place where my “neighbor” is anyone in need of mercy.

Romans 13:11-14 Waiting looks like becoming in Christ who we already are in Christ. The light looks like Jesus.

Matthew 24:36-44 The surprise of the Son of Man’s arrival takes everyone by storm. But might this simply be an iteration of the ministry of Jesus itself? Jason offers a fascinating interpretation. 

Jason’s book: Cancer is Funny: Keeping Faith in Stage-Serious Chemo 

Jason Micheli is a United Methodist pastor in Northern Virginia. He claims that his years in the academy have done him not a whole world of good, claiming, “I’m now the least well-rounded person in the world, having studied theology at UVA and from Princeton. Seriously, I’ve got no skills apart from parsing Greek nouns and obscure theological categories.” You can find his writing at tamedcynic.com and his book, Cancer is Funny, on Amazon.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Christ is king. That’s the week on the liturgical calendar, it’s the promise of God. And it’s our hope in a time when we have figured out that our earthly shepherds are not going to fulfill God’s visions of justice and righteousness. 

Jeremiah 23:1-6 God will shepherd God’s people. God will raise up a faithful shepherd to do it through. And God will see to it that humanity gets to flourish, free from fear, as God created us to do.

Luke 1:68-79 Zechariah prophesies over the ministry of John and anticipates the work of Jesus. It’s a vision of grand, earthy salvation, realized in the forgiveness of sins. God’s promise to work through a human king is coming to pass.

Colossians 1:11-20 Forgiveness leads to a kingdom in which Christ is king. Christ is king as humanity was supposed to be at the beginning: God’s image-bearing rulers of the earth. And God’s reconciling work bursts beyond the boundaries of God’s people to include the entire cosmos. This happens on the cross.

Luke 23:33-43 The shocking culmination of Reign of Christ week: we end with Jesus on the cross. But here, paradoxically, we discover the salvation that Jesus brings as king and messiah. 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral
Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The promise of new creation bursts through with images of wholeness, shalom, restoration, and God’s relentless passion for God’s beloved people. And when a bystander tries to get Jesus to say that the time has finally come for it, Jesus says, “Actually, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.”

Isaiah 65:17-25 New creation looks like a holistic picture of human thriving and flourishing. It’s shalom. It’s the dignity of meaningful work. It’s God delighting in each of us.

Isaiah 12 We celebrate a God whose identity is tied to our own. We celebrate a God who only “is” in relation to us, who “becomes” in relationship to the doings God promised to do.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Get to work. That is all.

Luke 21:5-19 No, that new creation thing isn’t on the cusp of happening. In fact, things have to get a whole lot worse, first. But take courage–God can save your whole self even if you lose your life. 

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In a world in which “you can’t always get what you want,” whether it’s justice, abundance, equality, or a decent political candidate, how do we continue to place our hope in God? Why should we place our hope in God?

Haggai 1:15b-2:9 In the midst of grave disappointment God says, “Don’t give up on me yet.” The presence of God is the promise of God’s acts in the future.

Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 God is worthy of praise. Do we tell enough stories about what God has done that we know this to be true in the depths of our hearts?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Don’t worry: you haven’t missed the awesome thing that God is going to do, because God has that awesome thing in store for you. We can continue to hope, even if the present isn’t panning out like we expected.

Luke 20:27-38 The life to come is not just like this one. It offers freedoms and life that blow up all our categories. So when things seem to be hopeless, there is a hope beyond imagining still waiting.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Sometimes the chaos of the world compels us to call on God to set all things right. Sometimes the chaos of the world compels us to delight in God’s presence in the midst of hardship. Can we take hold of both?

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 A cry for justice in a time of uncertainty. And a renewed cry when God answers wrong. A call for patience as we await geopolitical transformation.

Psalm 119:137-144 Here we find righteousness not in a transformed world but in the Torah that God has given. Perhaps a call to find peace and joy in the presence of God even in the midst of geopolitical turmoil.

Luke 19:1-10 Did Jesus bring repentance to the house of Zacchaeus? Or did he recognize that Zecchaeus was already a child of Abraham? What message do we need to hear with respect to our own money? Comfort or challenge? Do we need to be chastised for our crowd-like presumption and grumbling?

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 Faith needs to get worked out in horizontal and vertical dimensions. And suffering is to be expected for those living out the story of the crucified Christ.

 Corinna Guerrero is currently the MTS Online Program Coordinator (Berkeley, Campus) and Lecturer in the Religious Studies Department at Santa Clara University. She holds these positions while writing her dissertation on motifs of atrocity in the Book of Judges. 

To read some of Corinna’s popular work see her cover article “Costly Scripture” for America Magazine and her essay “I am CHURCH” in Faithfully Feminist: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Feminists on Why We Stay.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In order for shame to be undone, our whole system of judgment must be turned on its head. God honors those whom the world would shame. But are we really ready to hear it? The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector might push us to our limits.

Joel 2:23-32 A holistic picture of salvation that turns the whole world on its head. It invites us to hope for a huge act of deliverance, but then asks us to be agents taking care of a big world as well.

Psalm 65 A psalm celebrating Joel’s God of “all flesh”—and all creation. It’s a God who receives praise from much more than human creatures.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 What Paul hopes in 1 Corinthians 9 is here fulfilled: a faithful finish to a race well-won. Are we adequately preparing people for such an end?

Luke 18:9-14 Are we ready to name the heroes who represent our smug? Are we ready to name the despised other who represent God’s grace and mercy? This parable can push us to our limits.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

What is the Bible and what are we supposed to do with it? What does knowing God mean, and how does scripture help? How will we know when we are seeing an accurate representation of God? These are the questions the Lectionary guides us through this week.

2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 Scripture is inspired by God—for making us wise for the salvation that appears in Christ Jesus. What it looks like to reframe our understanding of inspiration around the Christological purpose articulated in 2 Tim 3:13. 

Jeremiah 31:27-34 New exodus promises a new covenant. Jeremiah contends for a better covenant and a better understanding of God to go along with it.

Psalm 119:97-104 No equivocation about the Law here—in Ps 119 it is unequivocally awesome! But what does that mean for us who see Christ rather than the Law as the perfect embodiment of the will of God, and as the one whose knowledge transforms us?

Luke 18:1-8 Do we know who God is well enough to ask God for the things that God would only too readily give? Do we have the faith to entrust ourselves to the God who promises a love of justice?

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

How do we live as people who are not in charge? How do we live among a people who are not like us, how do we respond to life’s calamities, how do we respond to life’s blessings? What do our responses show us about what kind of people we are and how we do or don’t see God’s hand at work in the world?

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Are we ready to be a blessing to the city in which we find ourselves? Are we willing to come out of the greenhouse, out of the ghetto, and integrate with the city, seeking its good so that we can find our own?

Psalm 66:1-12 In order to praise God we have to respond to God’s great deeds—which means we have to notice them! Are we ready? Are we ready to do this as those watching for movements from suffering and trial to deliverance rather than as people who reap blessing upon blessing?

2 Timothy 2:8-15 Listen for the texture of the gospel story, carrying us from death to resurrection. Look for it at play in the text and in real life.

Luke 17:11-19 How Luke’s “man attested by God” radically reorients what appropriate worship looks like, and who’s actually doing it.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The passages this week are:

Luke 17:5-10

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Lamentations 1:1-6, 3:19-26

Psalm 137

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Tim Conder joins the LectioCast again, bringing his wisdom as a community organizer and pastor to texts calling us to account for how we look to God, how we deal with our money, how we love our neighbor. 

1 Timothy 6:6-19 Where pseudo-Paul comes in sounding a whole lot like Jesus, challenging us with warnings about money as people who live in a rich society with a superabundance of toys. It’s a text that strikes us in the reality of the place where we live. What practices might cultivate contentment with what we have so that we can also be generous with others?

Luke 16:19-31 A story with a deep twist, upsetting our political and economic expectations. We have the name of the poor man, but not the rich. That pretty much tells us what we need to know.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 Celebrating the deliverer, even for people who never see that deliverance on this side of death. We need to figure out what sort of refuge we’re talking about.

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 A loooooong story of buying a field, in front of people, showing that there will be buying and selling in Israel again. A sliver of hope in a ridiculous moment—something that invites us into a posture of collaborative directionality. 

Tim Conder is the founding pastor of Emmaus Way in Durham, NC. He is also the author of Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community and The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture. He Vice-Chairs Durham’s MLK Steering Committee, co-leads the Clergy Caucus of Durham CAN (Congregations Associations and Neighborhoods), serves on the Ethics Committee of the Duke Medical Center, and is a Trustee at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. In addition to his work at Emmaus Way, Tim is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Tim Conder joins the LectioCast to talk about lament, finding our role in the biblical stories, and understanding how Jesus confronts and overthrows the oppressive power structures of the world. 

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 The lament we need to embrace if we want to celebrate the comedy of the gospel. The right answer does not silent the cry of the people. This is a great chance to explore multiple voices, the truth of emotive experience, and the importance of empathy.

Psalm 79:1-9 Taking a step back to read our own narrative in solidarity with those who are struggling with God and deeply enmeshed in lament. We have the opportunity to name ourselves as an exilic people and therefore a people who are complicit in society’s failure.

1 Timothy 2:1-7 A text that we need to read with a full apprehension of how ancient people understood powers and how expansive patriarchy was. Here, the humanity of Jesus makes him the mediator and opens a new way to be human—including a reconfiguration of powers.

Luke 16:1-13 What do we do with this, one of the most troubling parables in the whole Bible? 

Tim Conder is the founding pastor of Emmaus Way in Durham, NC. He is also the author of Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community and The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture. He Vice-Chairs Durham’s MLK Steering Committee, co-leads the Clergy Caucus of Durham CAN (Congregations Associations and Neighborhoods), serves on the Ethics Committee of the Duke Medical Center, and is a Trustee at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. In addition to his work at Emmaus Way, Tim is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral
director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

 This bonus edition was recorded before a live audience at the 2016 Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, NC. Michael and Daniel sit down to talk about how Christians should read the Old Testament. Do we take on board the NT authors’ view of things, that Jesus as Messiah is the interpretive key to the scriptures of Israel? This one has massive implications for not only preaching but our everyday reading, interpretation, and ethics.

Michael Kimpan has a proven history of leadership in helping individuals and institutions think critically about matters of faith and culture through his writing, teaching and consulting with churches, organizations, higher education institutions, NGOs and government agencies. HIs work has been featured by by Advocate magazine, Human Rights Campaign, The Huffington Post, CNN and TIME magazine as well as a number of nationally syndicated radio and podcast shows. Michael serves as the Connections Coordinator with OPEN Network, and is the founding Director of (un)common good collective. You can find out more about Michael at his blog, mjkimpan.com’

`Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Psalm 14 Here we face the question: what does it mean to consume God’s people? Slave labor? Prison industrial complex? It might be that we say “there is no God” in ways that we’d be surprised about.

1 Timothy 1:12-17 I make a big promise here: to show that something Paul says is something everyone can agree on. Let’s see if I can pull it off!

Luke 15:1-10 The celebration of the recovered lost becomes the meeting place between heaven and earth. The table becomes the altar in the inmost sanctuary, the place just beneath the heavenly party.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Listen to how Jim responds to being put on the spot with this one: Does God change? And it only gets better from there!

Jeremiah 18:1-11 The God who can change, and who can change our futures. Here is the potter who can start over with the malformed lump. 

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 When God knows everything, when it seems that all the days of our life are written in God’s book—what is there to preach? Wait to see what Jim breaks out!

Philemon 1:1-21 From sexuality in the psalm to slavery in Philemon—jrdk tells you how it holds together. And Jim says—PREACH THAT. Put it into the larger picture of systems and structures. 

Luke 14:25-33 Daniel discloses an early harbinger of his subsequent Enneagram diagnosis. But there’s more going on than real hate: it’s about the cost of following Jesus that we have to be ready for. 

Jim Kast-Keat is the Associate Minister for Education at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village of New York City. He is a divergent thinker, an ideation specialist, and an aspiring minimalist. Prior to working at Middle he helped lead ikonNYC, a radical theology collective in New York, NY, worked as a Product Designer with Sparkhouse in Minneapolis, MN and was a pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the co-host of That’ll Preach, a weekly sermon prep podcast and the creator and curator of Thirty Seconds or Less, a project that shares ideas and amplifies voices every day. To find out more about Jim go to www.jimkastkeat.com or follow him on twitter at @IdeasDoneDaily.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Divine hospitality is put on display in God’s great acts of salvation. And God wants God’s people to reflect that lavish hospitality to one another and to expect that God’s own desire is to continue lavishing such abundance on God’s people in the present.

Jeremiah 2:4-13 Strong words from God when Israel does not live up to the story that God has given it. This is a passage for you if you’ve got something strong to say—where have we truly fallen into idolatry?

Psalm 81:1, 10-16 Who is God? Well, what has God done? That tells you who God wants to be, here and now, for the people: God wants to give you good things—better things than you are capable of getting for yourself!

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Hospitality is the answer to the problems besetting the people of God in the OT texts. Hebrews undermines a somewhat useless over-spiritualized ideas about the Christian life.

Luke 14:1, 7-14 A story about communion: God’s radical acceptance of us, lived at the table. It also holds up a mirror to us: how many of us even know someone who doesn’t have the wherewithal to invite us back over for dinner so that we could invite that person to our party?

 Jim Kast-Keat is the Associate Minister for Education at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village of New York City. He is a divergent thinker, an ideation specialist, and an aspiring minimalist. Prior to working at Middle he helped lead ikonNYC, a radical theology collective in New York, NY, worked as a Product Designer with Sparkhouse in Minneapolis, MN and was a pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the co-host of That’ll Preach, a weekly sermon prep podcast and the creator and curator of Thirty Seconds or Less, a project that shares ideas and amplifies voices every day. To find out more about Jim go to www.jimkastkeat.com or follow him on twitter at @IdeasDoneDaily.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

This week we get a picture painted in four different shades of divine deliverance.

Luke 13:10-17 A loosing that confronts us with our desire to guard sacred space and time. And a story that reminds us that praise must always be grounded in experience.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 Jeremiah is set aside from the time he was born. Maybe we aren’t! As prophet of God Jeremiah is the embodiment of God on earth.

Psalm 71:1-6 What it means for God to be righteous: God as faithful deliverer of God’s people. This is why God is praised.

Hebrews 12:18-29 Heaven and earth come together in our worship. This assures of us our great deliverance, but it also stands as a warning.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

God has hopes for creation that include a flourishing of justice for all. The summons and the warning both point toward God being on the side of those who need the world’s abundance to overflow to them and embrace them.

Isaiah 5:1-7 An encapsulation of God’s hope for a beautiful, abundant place for everyone and of humanity’s failure to partner faithfully with God. But how do we recognize God in distinction from the gift of God we have turned into an idol?

Luke 12:49-56 The not-so-peaceful Jesus. He’s not so peaceful because people aren’t listening to the invitation to justice and mercy. Key here is getting our eyes fixed on what God’s will is here on this earth now. 

Psalm 801-2, 8-19 “God, why?”—the people. “People, why don’t you get it yet?!”-God. God wants the people to embody the justice that Jesus and the prophets summon us to. We have to be God to the world around us.

Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Jesus as the compass who points us in the direction of living out our faith. Including trust: Jesus perpetually entrusts himself into the hands of God.

Kimberly Knight has spent the past several years creating intersections between her decades of experience in the technology sector and progressive Christianity. She has worked as online organizer for the Beatitudes Society and as social media consultant for The Center for Progressive Renewal. She is currently cooking an online church project that you will want to keep your eyes open for. She blogs at KimberlyKnight on the Patheos progressive channel, where she hosts conversations about being gay and Christian in America.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 The city that God abandons in Isaiah is the city the people praise in Psalm 50. Here’s an invitation to wrestle with what faithfulness and sinfulness actually look like.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 This might be just the passage for those of us starting to burn out and not quite sure, anymore, that anything is going to change. How do we reach toward the new country that looks like the Kingdom of God?

Luke 12:12:32-40 Luke’s Jesus is the consummate table-waiting master. He is calling us to reverse our posture toward possessions. As a nation of consumers, what’s our response? Will we keep hoarding?

 Sean Gladding is a storyteller, pastor, writer, speaker, backyard chicken keeper, community gardener, and YMCA soccer coach. He is married to Rebecca, is father to Maggie and Seth, and they live, love, work and play in the MLK neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. He is the author of The Story of God, the Story of Us and TEN: Words of Life for an Addicted, Compulsive, Cynical, Divided and Worn-out Culture.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, will be out soon. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Hosea 11:1-11

Psalm 107:1-9, 43 A psalm of tangible trust: supplying real, tangible goods for our real, tangible needs. But are we willing to be the provision of God?

Colossians 3:1-11 How do we participate in the new humanity? Well, let’s talk about sex.

Luke 12:13-21 There are some kinds of fairness, justice, and judgment that Jesus doesn’t want anything to do with. Yes, we should be offended. We have a lot of stuff, so Jesus is talking to us.

This week we talked about the book Free: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most by Mark Scandrette. 

 Sean Gladding is a storyteller, pastor, writer, speaker, backyard chicken keeper, community gardener, and YMCA soccer coach. He is married to Rebecca, is father to Maggie and Seth, and they live, love, work and play in the MLK neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. He is the author of The Story of God, the Story of Us and TEN: Words of Life for an Addicted, Compulsive, Cynical, Divided and Worn-out Culture.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, will be out soon. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

This week the lectionary hovers around the beauty—and necessity!—of God’s forgiveness. Mercy triumphs over judgment, and demands that we become a different kind of people as well.

Hosea 1:2-10 A favorite Christian praise song illustrates the stark judgment of God and also, in the end, the triumph of mercy.

Psalm 85 A song the echoes Hosea by celebrating God’s past actions of turning from anger and judgment and looking for God to to do it again.

Colossians 2:6-15 Paul takes a deep dive into our identity as those who are in Christ. Death to our old humanity marks our union with Christ as our sins are forgiven and we are freed from hostile powers. And God says to us, “Yes, you are my people!” even as he said to Israel.

Luke 11:1-13 Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer puts us on the hook for our economic life when it comes to our receiving spiritual life from God. And God does want to give us us spiritual life—by God’s own Spirit.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA. He is also serving as pastoral director for the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, will be out soon. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42 Mary and Martha, distraction and presence. Are we ready to be interrupted by what demands our attention?

Amos 8:1-12 Summer fruit: the end of God’s patience with Israel. Amos warns the people about scheming for getting more and more while they’re honoring God through religious ceremony—sound like a country you know?

Psalm 52 What do you really love to hear? And are you able to stop and see and listen?

 Rev. Sarah Heah is an ordained elder for the California Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). She recently began serving at First United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa. Sarah is often a guest writer for various publications, websites, and blogs where she shares insights on the topics of making faith relevant in our modern society and negotiating faith with church – How does faith “work,” grow, and be sustained when you don’t fit into the average church?  Sarah is a contributor to the book, Disquiet Time: Rants and Reflections on the Good Book by the Skeptical, the Faithful, and a Few Scoundrels edited by Jennifer Grant and Cathleen Falsani (Jericho Books/Hachette, Oct. 2014). You can find her online at RevSarahHeath.com.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, will be out soon. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Luke 10:25-37

Colossians 1:1-14 Paul celebrates a faith that does more than think certain things. Here, too, love is at the heart of the message. Faith looks like love. And power looks like patience. 

Amos 7:7-17 In the middle of a stark picture of God’s judgment Amos shows us what it is to be a faithful prophet. Seduced by neither religious nor political power, Amos faithfully speaks God’s words.

Psalm 82 This psalm offers a call for judgment that can only come from a full understanding of the depths of injustice in the world. Do we understand injustice enough to ask God for judgment?

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, will be out soon. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

2 Kings 5:1-14 – 

Psalm 30  – The story of God’s salvation looks like victory, health, and life. We need to look to all three to know when God is truly at work. And we need to trust in God to bring them about.

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 – Jesus sends his followers to bring the Kingdom of God ahead of his own arrival. Jesus sends his followers to be his own presence before he arrives. And he sends them out like sheep who have to trust that the wolves will feed them rather than eat them. The power of God’s kingdom comes in ways that our yes would normally be too dull to see.

Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16 – Construction of a people faithful to the gospel that they’ve learned continues with final instructions: take care of yourself by loving your neighbor. New creation means that we have to reimagine power, obedience, and how God brings us the peace we yearn for.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 Another psalm to raise the question, How on earth could there be any Christian culture in which lament is not a regular part of what we do, week by week. Chuck invites us to reimagine our time of confession as a time of corporate lament.

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 The story we tell about God will determine what we think our story is supposed to be as God’s people. The way of health begins with recognizing you are God’s beloved child. 

Luke 9:51-62 The great rupture between Jesus and Elijah/Elisha: Jesus will not have his ministry marked by calling down fire on his enemies. The cross changes everything. The question that looms over the passage is whether we’re willing to be disciples of Jesus in the way that Jesus was messiah for us: walking the way of the cross.

 Chuck DeGroat is Associate Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Western Theological Seminary Holland MI, and Co-Founder and a Senior Fellow at Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco. He brings his pastoral, academic, and clinical experience to his writing in Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self and Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead, and Love the Difficult People in Your Life — Including Yourself. Follow him on Twitter @chuckdegroat. He blogs regularly at chuckdegroat.net. 

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

Psalm 42 and 43 Will God start acting like God? We have permission to speak what we feel and not what we “ought to say.” Sometimes we can even say both.

Galatians 3:23-29 Shifting from the Law to Christ as what contains and demarcates the people of God. Being in Christ means you don’t have to occupy the position of privilege in society in order to fully receive what God offers us. 

Luke 8:26-39 Chuck and Daniel try to figure out what to do with depictions of demon possession. The problems we face are greater than the sum of people’s bad decisions. And our interpretation of the villagers might tell us something about ourselves.

Chuck DeGroat is Associate Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Western Theological Seminary Holland MI, and Co-Founder and a Senior Fellow at Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco. He brings his pastoral, academic, and clinical experience to his writing in Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self and Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead, and Love the Difficult People in Your Life — Including Yourself. Follow him on Twitter @chuckdegroat. He blogs regularly at chuckdegroat.net.

 Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The question Jesus asks Simon, Do you see this woman?, becomes a probe for us as well: do we see ourselves, and do we see the people around us. Do we embrace whom God has embraced? Do we recognize our own failed attempts to make the people of God after our own image?

Luke 7:36-8:3 Jesus turns Simon’s wondering back on himself. The question, “Do you see?” is one that we need to answer carefully. At bottom the question is, Can you see love?

Galatians 2:15-21 This passage is all about the identity of the people of God: who belongs and how do you know? Works is works of Torah—what makes Jews Jews. Faithfulness looks like the cross and faith looks like trust. The space we have to occupy to be the faithful people of God is not being Jewish but being in Christ. Christ shows us how to be faithful to God.

1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a Ahab is pouty like Homer Simpson. And God cares about injustice.

Psalm 5:1-8 The psalms never give up on the idea on the idea that the narrative of God’s people should be one of vindication and flourishing—despite the fact that their lives don’t look like they’re supposed to.

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.

 Bryan Berghoef is a pastor, writer, and pub theologian, and author of the book, Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation, and God.  He insists that good things happen when we sit around the table together and talk about things that matter, and what better setting than at the pub, over a pint? Bryan has been facilitating weekly pub conversations for the past eight years in Michigan and Washington DC. Bryan hosts a weekly podcast, Pub Theology Live, and provides resources for Pub Theology groups at pubtheology.com.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

This week we see a cluster of stories that show God making the impossible possible. Whether it’s life out of death or a transformation of a violent aggressor into a vessel of self-giving love, God has the power to create and renew and rejuvenate. 

1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24) The places and ways that God works can and do and should surprise us—that is, if our God is in fact the Lord over all things. What does it take to see and know that God is the true God?

Psalm 146 God is creator and helper and sovereign. This is a good reminder that we shouldn’t put our hope and trust in human rulers—maybe an especially good place to focus during an election cycle in the U.S. 

Galatians 1:11-24 Paul’s cocky—but maybe for good reason. And Daniel goes strong with a claim that Paul is converted no the Road to Damascus—but maybe not in the way we usually think.

Luke 7:11-17 Jesus replays the Elijah story. And God gets the glory through God’s prophet. Again.

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.

 Bryan Berghoef is a pastor, writer, and pub theologian, and author of the book, Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation, and God.  He insists that good things happen when we sit around the table together and talk about things that matter, and what better setting than at the pub, over a pint? Bryan has been facilitating weekly pub conversations for the past eight years in Michigan and Washington DC. Bryan hosts a weekly podcast, Pub Theology Live, and provides resources for Pub Theology groups at pubtheology.com.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

What does God have to do in order to be recognized as God by the nations? What do we need to do to be the kind of people who can make God’s name known? Who do we need to be if we are going to receive the nations into our communities?

1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39 Yahweh against the storm God: can Israel’s God overcome water and storm and numbers in order to consume a sacrifice? The goal, though, isn’t just to show that Yahweh’s greater—it’s to draw the people back to their God. 

Psalm 96 A song of praise for all creation and all peoples. So how do we proclaim salvation and good news so that it sounds like good news for folks who aren’t insiders?

1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43 God has to do the right things if God wants to be known as the true and living God, worthy of worship.

Galatians 1:1-12 Yes, Paul has a bee in his bonnet. But for all the right reasons: Paul is the champion of creating a diverse people who don’t have to become like us in order to be part of the family of God. He sees Jesus freeing us from the powers that keep some people in positions of privilege and others forced to conform.

Luke 7:1-10 A question of worth, and a story of the nations’ dependence on Israel. Standing and power get turned on their head. And we discover what faith is: entrusting ourselves into the one who exercises God’s authority upon the earth.

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.

Here are the Luke commentaries we talked about:

Luke Timothy Johnson

Sharon Ringe

Fred Craddock

Justo González 

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA.

He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

“Tradition is at once a passing on and a betrayal.”

John 16:12-15 “Revelation is progressive.” Ok. But how do we know God’s revelation when we hear it? Looking for community and listening for the Jesus story.

Romans 5:1-5  The Spirit empowers the recapitulation of Jesus’s story. But how do we proclaim the Jesus story without perpetuating a narrative of oppression? How about starting with this: God doesn’t give us crosses, the Romans do.

Psalm 8 We learn about where we fit in creation: we are not to dominate—we are stewards, not conquerors. We learn how to be faithful to God in such a way that we do, in fact, show forth God’s glory.

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Finding our way in harmony with the created order: listening to Lady Wisdom. The bottom line might be just that: learn to listen. 

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.

 The Rev. Broderick Greer is curate at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and School where he coordinates ministry to young adults, oversees school chapel worship, and directs a new Episcopal Service Corps program. His work can be found at The Guardian, On Being, and Religion News Service. You can follow him @BroderickGreer

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The Spirit of God is a life-giver in the midst of chaos, one who works chaos in our lives so that we are forced to reckon with the fact that it’s God who is our life-giver. There is comfort and life from the hand of God. It’s the same comfort and life and parental care that was lavished on Jesus. And Jesus found it in the power of the Spirit raising him from the dead. 

Acts 2:1-21 The chaotic arrival of the Spirit. We need to look for God to be at work in the midst of the world (and our lives) in turmoil. And there’s a promise of this work creating its own chaos as the Spirit empowers people whom we might normally overlook as the stewards of God’s word and power.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b God gives life, and there’s this frightening part in which God withdraws. The arrival of the Spirit is the arrival of new creation. Also there’s this: “Leviathan is the rubber ducky in God’s bathtub.” 

Romans 8:14-17 The Spirit that makes us children is our life-giver and comforter. And in this we participate in the story of Jesus—a story of suffering that resolves in deliverance. To step into the suffering with Jesus means stepping into new life of resurrection—and there’s no new life without it. 

John 14:8-17, (25-27) We need to keep telling ourselves that when we have seen Jesus we have seen the Father. And, as an extension, by the Spirit we are to become the people who show the Father to the world.

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.
 Jonathan Martin is sacramental hillbilly Pentecostal mystic. He is the author of the forthcoming How to Survive a Shipwreck and Prototype. He serves as teaching pastor at Sanctuary Church in Tulsa, OK, where he now resides. He is a graduate from Gardner-Webb University, has an MA from Pentecostal Theological Seminary, and a ThM from Duke University. His website is http://www.jonathanmartinwords.com. He tweets at theboyonthebike.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In a world where people enact laws, run for office, vote, and protest as people of faith, how do we know when we are in the right? How do we know the Christian story when we see it? This week’s passages give us some pointers. They invite us to be the people who are entrusting our lives to Jesus, entrusting our lives to God as Jesus himself did when he laid down his life for his friends. 

John 17:20-26 When Jesus prays for people who have to listen to boring academic sermons! Jesus challenges us with the hope and expectation that we will all be one—something to discomfort us as we find ourselves quite at home in our particular tribes. Jesus elevates his followers as bearers of God’s glory—as we follow him in laying down our lives for our friends.

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21  Are we, the bride, calling for Jesus to come? Or are we too content? Are we calling people to join us, as the Spirit calls out to them to join? Revelation unsettles us with its back-and-forth between being terrifying and comforting, calling us to works and calling us to Jesus’s death on our behalf. It leaves us with the question: how do we confront empire?

Acts 16:16-34  “The wrong spirit can say the right thing.” Preach, brother Jonathan. “How many of us would put up with a Jesus who took away our way of making money?” Stop preaching, brother Daniel. Then there’s the jailer—who washes the wounds of the apostles.

Psalm 97  The story can’t be contained: what God is doing in Israel is for the sake of the world.

Make sure you grab your tickets to Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina on July 7-10! We’ll be recording and I’d love to meet more LectioCastians.
 Jonathan Martin is sacramental hillbilly Pentecostal mystic. He is the author of the forthcoming How to Survive a Shipwreck and Prototype. He serves as teaching pastor at Sanctuary Church in Tulsa, OK, where he now resides. He is a graduate from Gardner-Webb University, has an MA from Pentecostal Theological Seminary, and a ThM from Duke University. His website is http://www.jonathanmartinwords.com. He tweets at theboyonthebike.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The story of God is repeatedly a story of coming down: God’s glory coming down to shine on people’s faces, God the Father and the Son coming down to dwell with God’s people, and heavenly Jerusalem coming down to the earth. It’s our past, present, and future.

Acts 16:9-15 A Macedonian call to the margins—outside the gates, where the women are gathered, to the region where Paul’s ministry will make its deepest, longest-lasting impact.

Psalm 67 Recapturing the blessing of judgment. Hoping for judgment to ensure that all injustice in the world will be set to rights. Expecting that God is exposing things that need to  be healed.

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 A passage full of reorienting surprises: the movement of redemption is down not up, and the nations and kings of the earth come flocking through the gates of the city.

John 14:23-29 Might peace Jesus gives us be a gift that we, in turn, have to offer the world? 

 Jonathan Martin is sacramental hillbilly Pentecostal mystic. He is the author of the forthcoming How to Survive a Shipwreck and Prototype. He serves as teaching pastor at Sanctuary Church in Tulsa, OK, where he now resides. He is a graduate from Gardner-Webb University, has an MA from Pentecostal Theological Seminary, and a ThM from Duke University. His website is http://www.jonathanmartinwords.com. He tweets at theboyonthebike.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Morgan drops the money quote this week: “God’s song is big enough that there is a part for everyone.” This may have something to do with the big reveal from last week:What makes Christians distinct? This is a fantastic week of conversation about what identifies us as the people of God.

Acts 11:1-18 The Cornelius story: the third time’s a charm! How does it hold up a mirror to ourselves and the “circumcision” markers we have created in our own churches? And what does it take to open our eyes to the ways that God is already at work in the people we thought were on the outside?

Psalm 148   A psalm of cosmic praise to God. A massive song with a part for everyone.

Revelation 21:1-6 New creation as a renewal of the old. It has to be recognizable even as it’s transformed. The corruption of power falls away so that everyone can receive healing.

John 13:31-35 Love love love! This short passage captures everything that is supposed to make us and mark us as the people who believe in Jesus. This is the replacement for “ideological circumcision.”

Morgan Guyton is a United Methodist elder who leads the NOLA Wesley campus ministry in New Orleans

with his wife Cheryl. Morgan’s first book How Jesus Saves the World From Us: 12 Antidotes to Toxic Christianity with Westminster John Knox has just been released. He blogs www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

The resurrected Jesus stands as an agent of mercy and care—not keeping us from times of trouble, but walking with us through them. The slaughtered lamb upends conventional understandings of what God’s victory means while summoning us to listen.

Acts 9:36-43 The way of mercy is embodied both as power from the Lord and in Tabitha’s acts of love. Mercy is bigger than looking past a wrong, it’s treating other people like family.

Psalm 23   The psalms offers multiple possible exposures for us: David as sheep, David as shepherd, Jesus as shepherd, us as under-shepherds. The care God offers us comes first in the community. Also: we’re not protected from valleys, but God is walking with us through them.

Revelation 7:9-17 The loyalty of every nation, tribe, and tongue, is the point of contention. We have to beware of falling into the trap of conquering people for whiteness. We need to listen for the counter-narrative that stands over against empire. The passage invites us to trust that there is an ending in which God will be victorious.

John 10:22-30 The slaughtered lamb is also the shepherd to whom the sheep must listen. And if we are listening, there’s a faithfulness and beauty that people will be able to see.

Morgan Guyton is a United Methodist elder who leads the NOLA Wesley campus ministry in New Orleans with his wife Cheryl. Morgan’s first book How Jesus Saves the World From Us: 12 Antidotes to Toxic Christianity with Westminster John Knox has just been released. He blogs www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Acts 9:1-20 Does Jesus ask this question of us: Why are you persecuting me? When we hurt other people we are persecuting our savior. Salvation is not just about heaven on the other side of death, it’s about transforming lives here below.

Psalm 30   Images of life out of death. And maybe we find the joy and presence of God in the middle of the trying circumstances and crying out to God.

Revelation 5:11-14 A rightly ordered cosmos is a place where God is praised for doing what God has committed Godself to do for God’s people. But then, how can Jesus be the deliverer in battle when he was the one slaughtered?

John 21:1-19 Breakfast on the beach—but not before Peter puts his clothes back on. We serve up two well-word comments about this passage: one you should avoid and one you might embrace.

Morgan Guyton is a United Methodist elder who leads the NOLA Wesley campus ministry in New Orleans with his wife Cheryl. Morgan’s first book How Jesus Saves the World From Us: 12 Antidotes to Toxic Christianity with Westminster John Knox has just been released. He blogs www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Psalm 150   The definitive Scriptural proof text in favor of the worship band!

Revelation 1:4-8  A kaleidoscope of imagery describing both Christ and God. The future of God is God’s arrival for the sake of the world and God’s people. Jesus models what faithful saints are to be: the faithful witness and first of those risen from the dead. He doesn’t retreat to the “God part,” the prize at the end is Jesus (and ourselves) as more fully human.

John 20:19-31  Jesus accepts the wounds of the violence he endured. The beauty of new life is so deep because of the wounds. Micky tries to get us to tone down the “doubting Thomas” shtick. And Daniel reminds us that if you don’t see the mark where the wounds have been then you don’t have the Jesus story straight, yet.

Micky ScottBey Jones is a “contemplivist” leader and organizer who hosts & facilitates conferences, trainings and online conversations, writes & speaks on a variety of topics including self-care in community (healing justice), contemplative activism, intersectionality, race & justice & theology from the margins, and curates contemplative spaces/activities. Micky was recently named one of the Black Christian leaders changing the world in Huffington Post. You can interact with her work and collaborations at www.mickyscottbeyjones.com, and follower her on Twtter @iammickyjones and like her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MSJSpeaks

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 65:17-25

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24  This story that we so quickly associate with Jesus is a source of comfort and vision for oppressed people. The stone that those in power said was wrongly made is the one that God honors and exalts. Easter Sunday, and all the Easters that break into the world, are the days the Lord has made in which we are to rejoice.

1 Corinthians 15:19-26 It’s not the suffering that saves us—it’s the victory, the rebirth on the other side that is our salvation. The resurrection is God’s “I don’t think so” to the normal we find ourselves living by and mired in in our day-to-day lives and God’s affirmation of the primordial plan to have humanity rule the world on God’s behalf.

Acts 10:34-43 God sees our differences and welcomes us all. What matters is responding to the work of God. The same God who worked in Jesus during his time on earth worked to raise him from the dead and works to embrace us all into the family. The question before us is: with whom will we cast our judgment on Jesus? God or those who rejected him?

Luke 24:1-12  Only with the resurrection do people begin to understand. Part of being the Easter community is learning to trust each other’s experiences with Christ. Here, as everywhere else, it’s just at the point when you’re most sure someone doesn’t belong that the truth of the Kingdom of God is being put on display.
Micky ScottBey Jones is a “contemplivist” leader and organizer who hosts & facilitates conferences, trainings and online conversations, writes & speaks on a variety of topics including self-care in community (healing justice), contemplative activism, intersectionality, race & justice & theology from the margins, and curates contemplative spaces/activities. Micky was recently named one of the Black Christian leaders changing the world in Huffington Post. You can interact with her work and collaborations at www.mickyscottbeyjones.com, and follower her on Twtter @iammickyjones and like her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MSJSpeaks

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

You won’t want to miss Tripp’s insights, or the sometimes-vocal contributions of his baby, in this first ever LectioCast holiday special.

Tripp Hudgins is Director of Admissions at American Baptist Seminary of the West and is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union studying liturgy and ethnomusicology. His academic interests include ritual theory, the use of popular music in religious settings, and meaning making through sound or “sonic theology.” He is a member of the Society for Ethnomusicology and the American Academy of Religion. He has served as an adjunct professor and Teaching Assistant at various schools across the GTU including American Baptist Seminary of the West, Pacific School of Religion, and Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 31:9-16 This psalm opens us up to the reality that there’s more than what’s right in front of us, and there’s hope for God to carry us through and deliver us.

Philippians 2:5-11 Realize that Jesus is human and everything changes. Here, we see what it’s like for even the human Jesus to use and let go of his privilege for our sake. The Jesus story gives tremendous meaning to our humanity as a whole and provides hope for us even as Jesus himself was exalted by God. And in the highlight of jrdk’s LectioCast career, Micky likens his theological move to what she has learned from indigenous and womanist theologians.

Luke 22:14-23:56 The reading’s the thing, but we can’t stop ourselves talking about it, anyway. The disciples show their humanity, and Jesus invites them to be a better kind of human. The sword is weird, and Jesus doesn’t really have a Jewish trial. Luke’s atonement theology is captured in Jesus’s words from the cross.

Micky ScottBey Jones is a “contemplivist” leader and organizer who hosts & facilitates conferences, trainings and online conversations, writes & speaks on a variety of topics including self-care in community (healing justice), contemplative activism, intersectionality, race & justice & theology from the margins, and curates contemplative spaces/activities. Micky was recently named one of the Black Christian leaders changing the world in Huffington Post. You can interact with her work and collaborations at www.mickyscottbeyjones.com, and follower her on Twtter @iammickyjones and like her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MSJSpeaks

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 43:16-21 How are we supposed to think about that past that we’re supposed to forget? There’s a more abundant greatness that God has in store—not just for humanity, but for the whole creation.

Psalm 126 Isaiah’s kind of deliverance. It’s a greatness of glory that the nations can see and respond to as something great and wonderful. The psalm expresses the hope that what is thrown on the ground will spring forth in new life.

Philippians 3:4b-14 Paul’s crash course in the conjunction between spirituality and our physical bodies. Lent invites us into the adjudication between different goods: we set aside some goods for another kind of good. Paul recalibrates everything based on his new relational reality.

John 12:1-8 A woman here enacts faithful and true discipleship in washing Jesus’ feet. It’s an act of love and a demonstration of death. The paradox of the gospel is contained here: life comes through death.

Don’t miss the Clobbercast!

Registration is now open for a new 7-week online course on church in Anglican history, theology, and practice that Scott is teaching. The course is offered through Church Divinity School of the Pacific’s Center for Anglican Learning & Leadership (CALL). For more information about the course and to register, please visit the listing on the CALL website.

Scott MacDougall (Ph.D., Fordham University) is Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA. His research centers on ecclesiology and eschatology. He is interested in the difference a robust theological imagination of the future makes in how Christian community is lived out, both in the church itself and in the wider world. His first book, More Than Communion: Imagining an Eschatological Ecclesiology, was published in 2015 and was the subject of a Homebrewed Christianity interview with Tripp Fuller. MacDougall has also published several articles and reviews and has contributed to online publications such as Religion Dispatches and the Huffington Post’s Religion section. Follow him on Twitter at @scottmacdoug

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 A change of perception that aligns with God’s new reality. Cosmic reconciliation means that we are reconciled with each other as well. And we see how humans lie at the heart of the whole biblical story: God transforms us and God’s lovingkindness for the world are embodied in us.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 The classic story of God’s lavish forgiveness—and our slowness to receive it for ourselves or extend it to others. The father’s embrace of a “far off” son is a manifestation of new creation and asks us to examine our own tribalism and preference for those who are close. Then there are the names: how do the characters name themselves and each other? The father holds the family together as family.

Joshua 5:9-12 A paradoxical provision: in the place where there seems to be food, people have to be more deeply involved. And, we’re deeply dependent upon the social structure and everyone playing their part fairly.

Psalm 32  A penitential psalm that reminds us that sin is real and that our understanding is only partial. And we see a reflection of the reality that sitting on our sin, and hiding in our shame and guilt, is destructive. Then, as usual, we see how the psalm draws us back and forth between the world God promises and the world we experience day by day.

Don’t miss the Clobbercast!

Scott MacDougall (Ph.D., Fordham University) is Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA. His research centers on ecclesiology and eschatology. He is interested in the difference a robust theological imagination of the future makes in how Christian community is lived out, both in the church itself and in the wider world. His first book, More Than Communion: Imagining an Eschatological Ecclesiology, was published in 2015 and was the subject of a Homebrewed Christianity interview with Tripp Fuller. MacDougall has also published several articles and reviews and has contributed to online publications such as Religion Dispatches and the Huffington Post’s Religion section. Follow him on Twitter at @scottmacdoug

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In the CLOBBERCAST we tackle all the clobber passages some Christians use against the LGBTQ members of the church. Not only do we end up discussing the pastoral consequences and personal tensions connected to the larger conversation, but Rev. Mixon and Daniel share their own personal and powerful stories.

Tripp and Daniel are joined by Pastor Rick Mixon from the First Baptist Church, Palo Alto. Rick has been Senior Pastor of FBC Palo Alto since 2006.  Rick Mixon has been serving as an openly gay pastor in the American Baptist church for decades. He brings a barrel-aged-wisdom to the infamous clobber passages and these seemingly new struggles in the church.Previously, he served pastorates at Dolores Street Baptist Church in San Franciso and the First Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio. In addition to his ministerial training, he holds a Ph. D. in religion and psychology from the Graduate Theological Union and worked for many years as a psychotherapist and adjunct faculty at Holy Names College (Oakland), Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley) and Saybrook Graduate School in Humanistic Psychology (San Francisco.)

Daniel Kirk has been on a long journey whose first steps came with trying to figure out how to love his gay (non-Christian) neighbor as his straight self. While several of the clobber passages were mere adornments on along the way, a couple put up significant roadblocks. Unsurprisingly, those final roadblocks were cleared in tandem with his parting of ways with Fuller seminary this past year. Daniel is writing an ebook about his journey to becoming an open and affirming evangelical New Testament professor that should be available soon. A fuller treatment is in the works, walking through how we can say yes to the work of God in the lives of our same-sex partnered sisters and brothers, affirm the place of scripture in the church, and say no to the passages that condemn same-sex intercourse. Expect to see Gender, Race, Sex, and Power in 2017.

Isaiah 55:1-9 The invitation to come to the waters is simultaneously an invitation to reimagine what exactly we need to slake our hunger and thirst. Lent brings our bodies into synch with our souls as hungering and thirsting for God and God’s provision.

Psalm 63:1-8  God’s presence is found in darkness, with the hope of light. And it is found as something that meets physical and spiritual longings. And it appears in both the public of the temple and the private of the bedroom

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Paul reflects on how a saved and rescued people stumbled and fell: the Exodus community serves as a model for the eschatological people of God. Food and drink are important, they are provided, but they are not the goal. Also… WARNING: Daniel gets his Bible geek on. After you get through, though, there are challenging words for how we live together as the people of God—and ways that the Corinthians and we are apt to get it wrong.

Luke 13:1-9 A Jerusalem judgment trifecta—with roots in the historical Jesus. But there is a call and a time for repentance. Lent itself is a season that directs us toward repentance and full restoration.

Book cited: the only person JRDK ever cites, himself! Read more about becoming the Forgiveness People in Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul?

Scott MacDougall (Ph.D., Fordham University) is Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at the Church
Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA. His research centers on ecclesiology and eschatology. He is interested in the difference a robust theological imagination of the future makes in how Christian community is lived out, both in the church itself and in the wider world. His first book, More Than Communion: Imagining an Eschatological Ecclesiology, was published in 2015 and was the subject of a Homebrewed Christianity interview with Tripp Fuller. MacDougall has also published several articles and reviews and has contributed to online publications such as Religion Dispatches and the Huffington Post’s Religion section. Follow him on Twitter at @scottmacdoug

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Warning: Daniel downer debunks a favorite interpretation of God passing through slaughtered birds. But the gift of the land creates its own unique contours as Israel identifies itself as an immigrant people.

Psalm 27  Proclaiming the Lord’s protection probably means we know we have something to be protected from. There’s a pull in both directions: we need to be pulled toward faithfulness and God needs to act in faithfulness as well.

Philippians 3:17-4:1 Are pastors just like everyone else? Maybe… maybe not. Where is there space for imitation? The Christian life entails more than just believing in Jesus. It also means imitation. Aric helps clarify the place of the body as we follow Jesus.

Luke 13:31-35 Learn what verse it was that kept Daniel from becoming a Calvinist for at least 2 months! We try to get our heads straight about the Pharisees and remember a few things about Herod’s involvement in Jesus’ death in Luke. The passage underscores the trajectory of Jesus’ life: to Jerusalem, for a celebrated arrival, and ultimate death.

Aric Clark is a writer, a speaker, and Presbyterian minister who lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two gremlins pretending to be his sons. He is the co-author of Never Pray Again: Lift Your Head, Unfold Your Hands, and Get To Work, a book which challenges readers to embrace a concrete other-centered spirituality. He is also the creator of LectionARIC a youtube channel for hermeneutical vlogs. His most recent project is a video curriculum for small groups introducing critical tools for studying scripture called Strange Book of Books. When he is not writing, preaching, or parenting, Aric can be found engaging his tabletop gaming hobby, or cooking for a crowd of random strangers he invited home without his wife’s permission. He is a pacifist and he still can’t grow a beard.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He
holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 The offering of the fruits of the land is a seal and celebration of the fact that God has fulfilled God’s promise to give the land to the people of Israel. They have transformed the land from pastoral to cultivated. And this celebration only comes on the heels of slavery and suffering in Egypt: God is faithful through delivering them from afflictions.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Wrestling with a text that makes it seem like this life will be better than what most of us experience. And the Jesus story stands next to it in sharp contrast, specifically as Jesus rejects the Satanic invitation to entrust himself to the narrative of this psalm.

Romans 10:8b-13 We navigate the significance of confession and belief in the context of a faith that calls for radical dedication and inclusion of surprising social groups.

Luke 4:1-13  Finally! A fasting text to help springboard our own Lenten fast. Jesus refuses the way of glory in favor of entrusting himself to God’s very different plan. Jesus is the faithful son of God that Israel was supposed to be. And, Jesus is rejecting a satanic image of God.
 Aric Clark is a writer, a speaker, and Presbyterian minister who lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two gremlins pretending to be his sons. He is the co-author of Never Pray Again: Lift Your Head, Unfold Your Hands, and Get To Work, a book which challenges readers to embrace a concrete other-centered spirituality. He is also the creator of LectionARIC a youtube channel for hermeneutical vlogs. His most recent project is a video curriculum for small groups introducing critical tools for studying scripture called Strange Book of Books. When he is not writing, preaching, or parenting, Aric can be found engaging his tabletop gaming hobby, or cooking for a crowd of random strangers he invited home without his wife’s permission. He is a pacifist and he still can’t grow a beard.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Exodus 34:29-35 Moses plays the part of an angel of God as he comes down the mountain wearing God’s glory. Aric helps us deconstruct the idea that holiness is completely intolerant of the profane.

Psalm 99 A song of holiness, mountains, separation, and kingship. We reflect on how to read the psalms without just reiterating masculine images of power. And the psalm challenges us to define justice as nothing less than equity.

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Paul’s passage about the veiled Moses leaves us all trying to unveil what on earth Paul is up to. The whole community can take away the veil to get the glowy face!

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) Along with 2 Cor 3, this passage warns us that the revelation we’re looking for is nothing compared to the revelation that takes place on the cross. The context of glorification is Jesus’ looming self-sacrifice on behalf of the people. And we talk about how to interpret (or not) passages depicting demon possession.

Don’t forget to grab your tickets (for online or in person attendance) for the Clobbercast recording in Palo Alto on February 5!

 Aric Clark is a writer, a speaker, and Presbyterian minister who lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two gremlins pretending to be his sons. He is the co-author of Never Pray Again: Lift Your Head, Unfold Your Hands, and Get To Work, a book which challenges readers to embrace a concrete other-centered spirituality. He is also the creator of LectionARIC a youtube channel for hermeneutical vlogs. His most recent project is a video curriculum for small groups introducing critical tools for studying scripture called Strange Book of Books. When he is not writing, preaching, or parenting, Aric can be found engaging his tabletop gaming hobby, or cooking for a crowd of random strangers he invited home without his wife’s permission. He is a pacifist and he still can’t grow a beard.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 Cindy breaks down Jeremiah’s youthful call in light of her recent work on raising children unfundamentalist. We have to remember that our charge is to listen to whomever God has empowered to speak by the Spirit.

Psalm 71:1-6 A psalm that could be Jeremiah’s: God’s knowledge of a person from the womb. Cindy brings some insight from an East Asian context, taking our focus off of ourselves and helping us situate salvation in a communal and multi-generational context.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 The proverbial Love Shack of the Pauline corpus. We reorient to this chapter as addressing the exercise of spiritual gifts in the church.

Luke 4:21-30 The age old question: why do the people freak out? Cindy shines some light back on the US from outside: we have our own possessive tribal instincts. How do we adjust our instincts and care for the outsiders? Are we willing for Jesus to go to our neighbors if it doesn’t accrue any benefit to ourselves? In the end, Jesus himself lives out the promise that God makes to Jeremiah and the psalmist: he is delivered by God.

Don’t forget to grab your tickets (for online or in person attendance) for the Clobbercast recording in Palo Alto on February 5!

Cindy’s blog series “Raising Children Unfundamentalist” can be found here. The Facebook group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/665348930273216/.

Cindy Wang Brandt is a blogger at cindywords.com and serves on the board of a non-profit fighting global poverty at One Day’s Wages.  She has written for Sojourners, Red Letter Christians, and HuffingtonPost.  Her first book is Outside In: Ten Christian Voices We Can’t Ignore, and is working on her second book on the subject of Raising Children UnFundamentalist. You can join the conversation on progressive Christian parenting, at the Raiding Children UnFundamentalist Facebook group. She’s on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After 5½ years as a missionary, she is currently living in her hometown in Taiwan.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Luke 4:14-21 “The Social Justice Manifesto”! But what is the social justice Jesus envisions? Cindy talks about good news to the poor, debt relief, freedom. And then there’s the Spirit piece—Jesus speaking as one empowered by the same Spirit that gives gifts of speech in the church. If we weave those together, we find an imperative to use our speech in the church to further Jesus’ mission of social justice.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a The intimate unity between Christ and his people: the Spirit makes us Christ. In a moment of weakness, Daniel lets his white male privilege show. (So embarrassing—please don’t tell!) But really—how do we respond to diversity? Cindy jumps in with some wise words. And then there’s the question of where we look for Christ: Up? Down? Or left and right?

Psalm 19 Do the heavens declare with speech or without? Daniel’s so confused. Cindy recommends doing an editing job to make up for the need for… well… an editing job. And then, what do we do with the celebration of the Law? Is it, or Christ, what we want to preach as the perfect reviver of our souls?

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 So, really, why are the people crying? Surely the sermon wasn’t that bad? Ok, probably not. And then they throw a party—and Cindy shows us how the party brings us back to good news for the poor: the people were to share their meat with those who had none.

Don’t forget to grab your tickets (for free online or in person attendance) for the Clobbercast recording in Palo Alto on February 5!

Books cited this week:

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 

Grounded: Finding God in the World-A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass

Cindy’s blog series “Raising Children Unfundamentalist” can be found here. The Facebook group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/665348930273216/.

Cindy Wang Brandt is a blogger at cindywords.com and serves on the board of a non-profit fighting global poverty at One Day’s Wages.  She has written for Sojourners, Red Letter Christians, and HuffingtonPost.  Her first book is Outside In: Ten Christian Voices We Can’t Ignore, and is working on her second book on the subject of Raising Children UnFundamentalist. You can join the conversation on progressive Christian parenting, at the Raiding Children UnFundamentalist Facebook group. She’s on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After 5½ years as a missionary, she is currently living in her hometown in Taiwan.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

It’s the Second Sunday After Epiphany and we are joined by Cindy Wag Brandt for some LectioCast fun!

Isaiah 62:1-5 Celebration. Praise. Delight. We’re familiar with all these—but are we ready to see them as God’s own posture toward God’s people? (Also, Daniel rides his hobby horse about God sharing God’s awesome stuff with God’s people.)

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 We hit the difficulties of unity: it’s an act of faith, and it’s sometimes used as a club to get minority voices to quiet down and get along. Then there’s the thorny question of whether Paul’s prioritization of word gifts is elitist.

John 2:1-11 Reading John is sometimes equal parts solving a puzzle and reading a story. What’s this wedding feast, better wine imagery doing here? What do we make of Mary’s understanding of who Jesus is and what he’s capable of?

Psalm 36:5-10 The psalm resonates with the theme of celebration that ties together Isaiah and John. We also might learn a little about love, with Cindy bringing some wisdom from her Chinese culture.

Cindy’s blog series “Raising Children Unfundamentalist” can be found here. The Facebook group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/665348930273216/.

Cindy Wang Brandt is a blogger at cindywords.com and serves on the board of a non-profit fighting global poverty at One Day’s Wages.  She has written for Sojourners, Red Letter Christians, and HuffingtonPost.  Her first book is Outside In: Ten Christian Voices We Can’t Ignore, and is working on her second book on the subject of Raising Children UnFundamentalist. You can join the conversation on progressive Christian parenting, at the Raiding Children UnFundamentalist Facebook group. She’s on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After 5½ years as a missionary, she is currently living in her hometown in Taiwan.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 43:1-7 A HUGE REVEAL! The deepest vocational longing of Daniel’s heart is laid bare! Also, there is intimate language of God’s care for God’s beloved children, maybe an anticipation of the baptism scene itself.

Psalm 29 attempts to depict the overwhelming power of the voice of God. God’s kingship isn’t about preserving the monarchy, but empowering and blessing the people.

Acts 8:14-17 One picture of the relentless embrace of the other. (Also, Eric uses the word “erstwhile”—jrdk loves that word.)

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Is John’s stark apocalyptic prophecy in line with Jesus’ own vision of his mission? And do we really want a nice Jesus? Then, what kind of son of God is Jesus, and how does this relate to Adam as son of God? And, yes, Daniel rides his human Jesus hobby horse one more time—for the good of the church!

Eric’s Books: Reading Theologically, Ethnic Negotiations: The Function of Race and Ethnicity in Acts 16.

 Eric Barreto is Associate Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and will soon be heading to take a New Testament post at Princeton Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and devotes a fair bit of his writing to helping the church grapple better with scripture.

He writes regularly for WorkingPreacher.org, a lectionary commentary website. He also writes for OnScripture.org and Huffington Post. Eric’s most recent work is an edited volume, Reading Theologically, a guide to biblical interpretation for seminary students.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jeremiah 31:7-14 In a diffuse world of turmoil, Jeremiah promises unity as God gathers people together. The least likely travelers are the heart of what God is about.

Psalm 147:12-20 Nature is a way in which God executes God’s will and judgment: both for blessing of God’s people and for those who stand over against God. And we explore the “word of God” as something broader than Christ.

John 1:(1-9), 10-18  Eric gets us out of English to think about the word being active and powerful. So we start talking about what God is like, and Daniel spouts one of his favorite heresies. And we see again that what Jesus does impacts all creation.

Ephesians 1:3-14 Daniel keeps pointing out the Calvinist passages this week. It’s a good week to be a Calvinist. Then there’s that other thing: being united to Christ by the Spirit. Then there’s this bit about heaven and earth not being mere contrasts. Eric calls us to interweave the two.

Eric’s Book: Reading Theologically

Eric Barreto is Associate Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and will soon be heading to take a New Testament post at Princeton Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and devotes a fair bit of his writing to helping the church grapple better with scripture.

He writes regularly for WorkingPreacher.org, a lectionary commentary website. He also writes for OnScripture.org and Huffington Post. Eric’s most recent work is an edited volume, Reading Theologically, a guide to biblical interpretation for seminary students.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. 
He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 Hannah gives generously—she didn’t want the child for herself. Samuel wears the clothes of a priest. And we start to hear how the Jesus story echoes the Samuel story—including the honoring of faithful women who become faithful mothers.

Psalm 148 Here we are reminded that we are not alone in our praise of God (or in need of redemption). The particularity of Israel becomes a

Colossians 3:12-17 Get dressed! Daniel drops pearls of pastoral wisdom you won’t get just anywhere. Eric draws on his global experience to help us rethink our clothing choices.

Luke 2:41-52 Jesus feels at home in the Temple, in Jerusalem. That’s its own testimony to the faithfulness of Jesus’ family in coming to Jerusalem year by year. Daniel starts riffing on the correspondences between this scene and Luke 24 after the resurrection. Eric helps us honor Mary in Luke’s Gospel.

Eric’s Book: Reading Theologically

 Eric Barreto is Associate Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and will soon be heading to take a New Testament post at Princeton Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and devotes a fair bit of his writing to helping the church grapple better with scripture.

He writes regularly for WorkingPreacher.org, a lectionary commentary website. He also writes for OnScripture.org and Huffington Post. Eric’s most recent work is an edited volume, Reading Theologically, a guide to biblical interpretation for seminary students.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Micah 5:2-5a We explore hope in the midst of suffering—hope for new life that the labor pains of suffering ultimately yield. Margaret asks us to take the position of the sheep, and maybe think differently about what it means to be a shepherd.

Psalm 80:1-7 The psalm is a call for Advent—for God to show up in a way that we can actually see it.

Hebrews 10:5-10 Talking about the sacrifice of Jesus and the body that gets him there. Not your standard Advent text…

Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) Mary’s mortal danger is averted. And Elizabeth steps in, takes over the role of the priest, and pronounces the blessing of the priest.

Reference: O Antiphons

  Margaret Aymer Oget is a New Testament professor at Austin Seminary. She is the author of James: Diaspora Rhetoric of a Friend of God (Sheffield Publishing, 2014), and First Pure, then Peaceable: Frederick Douglass, darkness and the Epistle of James (T&T Clark, 2008); and an editor of Fortress Commentary on the Bible (Fortress Press, 2014). Aymer has served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) broadly. She has served on the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations since 2010, moderating the six persons who write the Bible Exegesis Ordination Examination for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She was a member of the Committee on Preparation of Ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from 2010-2011, training sessions (governing bodies) of local congregations on the ordination process and their responsibilities therein. Aymer was also a member of the General Assembly Task Force on Civil Unions and Marriage (2009-2010), and she served as a steering committee member for the Committee on Theological Education Consultation on Racism from 2004-2008.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Zephaniah 3:14-20  Bruce doesn’t want us to get too crazy about celebration without taking stock of where it comes from. Daniel draws attention to the beautiful peculiar. And then, what does it mean to be a gathered people, and how do we embody that divine action?

Isaiah 12:2-6 Here Bruce gets personal: we have to be able to articulate what salvation means to us or else our attempts to preach on it are going to fall flat.

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoicing, being a people of gentleness, being anxious for notion, and receiving God’s peace—all seem to demand a sustained posture of trust. What if I don’t have to be in control for the world to be set to rights?

Luke 3:7-18 We wonder aloud whether anyone is going to preach on this?! John goes apocalyptic on the crowds, and promises that Jesus will be the executor of his warnings about a purging fire. There’s also a challenging thread about financial justice in the middle, one that we might practice enacting with our communities.

Footnote: Mark Scandrette’s guidebook for experimenting with handling our money and time (including “Have Two, Give One”): Free: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most.

Bruce Reyes-Chow 

A 3rd Generation Chinese/Filipino, armchair sociologist, and technology enthusiast Bruce writes, speaks, and teaches on faith, race, parenting, and technology in a variety contexts from seminaries to conferences to congregations to pre-schools.

Bruce has been a Presbyterian pastor for 20 years serving multi-generational, multicultural, and urban congregations in San Francisco. He was also the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) from 2008-2010.

Bruce is a sporadic blogger and has written three books: The Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church (Shookfoil Books, 2012), and But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating Conversations about Race (2013), 40 Days, 40, Prayers, 40 Words: Lenten Reflections for Everyday Life (WJK Press, 2016)

Bruce lives in San Francisco with is wife, three daughters, and two canines. You can connect with Bruce on most social networks via @breyeschow

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Malachi 3:1-4  Micha draws our attention to how much time is spent focusing on the messenger rather than the Lord himself. We see again that what we are waiting for is divine safety.

Luke 1:68-79 We ask the recurring question, Who are our enemies from whom we need to be saved? In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks this question and how we respond to it carries added potency. How do we name enemies for the purpose of praying for forgiveness, and in such a way as to not be afraid?

Philippians 1:3-11 We see a beautiful picture of shared life together in Christ, intimate partnership, and hope for what the church can be. And we also learn what Daniel’s life verse was—the one with which he signed all his letters in his pious days!

Luke 3:1-6 Luke sets the global stage of Jesus’ arrival (including Texas?!) in order to set us up for a story that is good news for all people. Micha invites us to soak in the beauty of the metaphors. And maybe to listen to Handel’s Messiah again.

 Micha Boyett is the author of Found: A Story Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer. She’s passionate about monasticism and ancient Christian spiritual practices and how they inform the contemporary life of faith. She writes about prayer, motherhood, and her new journey with Down syndrome at michaboyett.com.  Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

2 Samuel 23:1-7 Daniel wants us to incorporate people into worship—his pet heresy. Alex directs the conversation toward how God names us and identifies us as God’s own. Daniel reinterprets it through Jesus. As he does.

Psalm 132:1-12 (13-18) A song of David that shows us how the Kingdom moves: we move God to remember, we invite God to join the spaces we already occupy, the presence of God moves into the place where the righteous king is enthroned.

Revelation 1:4b-8 A piling up of titles for Jesus as ruling king. Christ is enthroned as resurrected king—hope for people who might have to pass through death themselves.

John 18:33-37 Jesus’ kingship and kingdom—not from the world, but present in this world anyway.

Alex Kirk is the Lead Pastor at Chatham Community Church in Pittsboro, NC. He served on InterVarsity staff for sixteen years and was the lead editor on the latest rendition of InterVarsity’s Small Group Leader Handbook. You can find his Sunday’s Best Three Minutes video series at the Chatham Church Facebook Page.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Jeremiah 33:14-16  Carol reflects on biblical anticipations of the future that should expel our fear in hope of safety. Daniel rides his human-representatives-of-God hobby horse.

Psalm 25:1-10 Carol runs the ideas of trust and waiting through the lens of pregnancy. (This is exactly why we have women on during Advent—a gender bias whose value Carol confirms!)

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 From waiting on God to waiting on and hoping for an earthly reunion. At its best, community is a source of joy—and people who can hold my faith for me when I cannot hold it myself.

Luke 21:25-36 Is this about Jesus’ future return? Or Jesus’ enthronement? How does the Kingdom of God come near? Lots of questions linger over this passage. Carol brings some environmental redemption.

Don’t dissipate and debauch!

 Rev. Carol Howard Merritt (@CarolHoward) is a Senior Consultant for the Center for Progressive Renewal. She is the award-winning author of Tribal Church (Alban) and Reframing Hope (Alban) and a frequent contributor to books, websites, magazines, and journals. She is a regular columnist at the Christian Century where her blog is hosted. She’s a Presbyterian (USA) minister whose writing, speaking, and teaching is anchored in theological and sociological insight. Visit: http://www.carolhowardmerritt.org/ Follow her blog at http://tribalchurch.org.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

1 Samuel 1:4-20 We try to map childlessness and birth within the larger picture of God’s work at decisive moments in Israel’s story. And we remember not to let our piety keep us from challenging the ways God is absent or neglectful.

1 Samuel 2:1-10 A song that celebrates the birth of a child, but with geopolitical overtones. Conquered enemies? The upside down economy of the kingdom of God runs right through the song—pair it with the Beatitudes and you’re good to go.

Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25 The last days are inaugurated, and yet there is waiting. The fulfillment and the “end” has begun, but there is still waiting in hope. Psalm 110 awaits if full and final fulfillment. I even drop a three-point sermon for you!

Mark 13:1-8 Jesus prophesying about Jerusalem’s destruction. And let’s all calm down about “I am.” Then we have to wrestle, again, with how the deliverance of God’s people and geopolitical transformation come hand-in-hand.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 We talk a little “euphemism,” a little irony, and a whole lot of restoration and removal of shame.

Psalm 127 A beautiful song of rest, but also a difficult song that might create expectations that God sometimes doesn’t meet. We read it as a song of Ruth, celebrating what God does not just for persons but for the people.

Hebrews 9:24-28 A continuation of Jesus as “better” than his predecessors sees him as a once-for-all offering that meets the needs of people who die once but for whom death is not the final word.

Mark 12:38-44 Continuing the theme of scribes, Jesus issues stern warnings that might just hold up a mirror to us as twenty-first century Christians. Read alongside the story of the widow’s mite, the condemnation of the scribes takes on even greater poignancy.

Book referenced: Gary Anderson, Sin: A History

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

What do you do?

#LectioCast

Hebrews 9:11-14 The human Jesus enters the Tabernacle not made with hands and is himself the sacrifice in God’s presence (not on the cross).

Mark 12:28-34 This story is weird because things go so well for the scribe. What’s still lacking, if anything?

Ruth 1:1-18 “Running on Empty”: JRDK recounts a sermon he heard 20 years ago. The text turns from disaster to faithfulness. It shows a covenant commitment between women that is richer than romance and sex.

Psalm 146 There’s deliverance with the arrival of God—it ties nicely with the Ruth story (and maybe even Hebrews!). Scott issues an invitation to look for those who don’t have the voice, support, and structure around us in our church and society. Do we make ourselves a cause of feasting for our neighbors?

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Scott helps us take apart the folktale of Job and the Biblical version. Process philosophy makes an appearance to help us understand the Biblical God and God’s relationship to the world.

Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)

We wrestle with how to give faithful God-infused accounts of our lives so that we, too, can join in praise. And we tell stories where we’ve seen it.

Hebrews 7:23-28 Jesus as better high priest. Scott tries to back Daniel into a corner with the exalted depiction of Jesus—how does it fit the lowly, suffering, humble human Jesus we’ve seen the past two weeks?

Mark 10:46-52 Learning to see the blind man as part of Mark’s story: a disciple who is willing to follow Jesus on the way to the cross.

Footnotes: David Moffitt taught me everything I know about Hebrews.

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

 Mark 10:35-45

Job 38:1-7, (34-41) Wrestling with the callenge of God not answering. Discovering that we’re not the center of the universe. Creation is wild, but God still tends to it. We have to hold these readings all together. And you don’t want to miss out on two awesome potential sermon illustrations!

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c Praise the Lord! Awesome!

Hebrews 5:1-10 Jesus gets to ride his human Jesus hobbyhorse! There is a real transition and development in the life of Jesus from dead to raised. We get perspective that ties together Job and Mark: the life of the children of God isn’t set apart by ease and reward here on earth.

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Job 23 Spoiler alert: God doesn’t listen like Job hopes God will. In fact, the whole book is couched to undo the world that we wish were: where the good guys are blessed and the bad guys get theirs.

Psalm 22 Daniel wants to hold onto the earthy, gritty reality of what god-forsakenness looks like. Israel’s story of the past reminds God how God is supposed to act in the present. The core testimony is that God answers, so how do we deal with the “but”? And you may or may not get a Mountain Goats blast…

Hebrews 4:12-16 Trying to figure out the most famous verse of Hebrews. Scott points out that our high priest has been Job and the singer of Ps 22.

Mark 10:17-31 Reentering the story of the rich man. Scott encourages us to turn the tables on ourselves: You are the man! The story has the power to lay bare what we do not yet accept about the ministry of Jesus.

Footnotes: “Animal Mask,” by the Mountain Goats

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Job 1:1; 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16

Job 1, 2 God drawing Satan’s attention to a good guy might make one a wee bit nervous. But fortunately for everyone jrdk has a Mountain Goats song to help get you through it.

Psalm 26 “The prayer for those who feel like they’re on the losing end of some cosmic bet.”—Bo.

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Daniel tries to walk the ground between the exaltation of the human Jesus and the eternal Son.

Mark 10:2-16 A fraught passage on creation, marriage, and divorce. Daniel offers the definitive answer as to why this text is in the lectionary before the conversation opens up on large questions of justice and care for children.

Media referenced:

The Mountain Goats, Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?

Miguel de la Torre, The Politics of Jesús

Ched Meyers, Binding the Strongman

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. You can find summaries of that series on his Public Theology Channel on YouTube.

Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders)

These passages challenge us to live in the world in such a way that God is with us, that God being with us matters, and that God in the world makes the world better than it could otherwise possibly be. In the end, we discover that we ourselves might be part of the way that God is present and at work.

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Daniel thinks Esther is too much trouble to try to preach, but Bo bails him out. Again.

Psalm 124 What if we read it as a commentary on the Esther story? Read in tandem it is a powerful and illustrative pair. Is there a compelling way to name our enemies in a current Western context?

James 5:13-20 How can we cultivate a second naïveté, engaging the world as though we live truly God-infused lives? Bo warns: you will get exposed when you preach on passages like this: your audience will know how you think God is at work in the world. But Daniel’s still worried about over-promising and God under-delivering.

Mark 9:38-50 The disciples model one of our greatest recurring failures: assuming that we ourselves mark the boundaries of the people of God. Bo drops his reminder: Everyone you see is a seat for the presence of God. The recurring surprise is Jesus’ willing identification with both outsider and “the least.”

Books referenced:

Ched Meyers, Binding the Strongman

Michael Hardin, The Jesus Driven Life

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. You can find summaries of that series on his Public Theology Channel on YouTube.

Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders)

Mark 9: Daniel fills out Jesus’ “son of man” language with some talk about Daniel 7. Bo helps us see how Jesus critiques the political ways of the world. Failing to understand the cross is about failing to apprehend how the death of Jesus completely transforms what it looks like to be the faithful people of God.

Psalm 1: JRDK and Bo revisit their point/counterpoint on the place of the Law in the Christian life. And Bo commands you, “Arise, take up your notebook, and walk.”

Proverbs 31: Moving beyond a checklist approach to the woman of valor. Just read Rachel Held Evans.

James 3-4: More wisdom! Wisdom for getting over the bluster of our political scene. Wisdom for prayer–but there’s a promise here that we have to believe if we’re going to preach it with strength. Daniel is troubled, but Bo bails him out. Again.

Books referenced:

Ched Meyers, Binding the Strongman

Randy Woodley, Shalom in the Community of Creation

Rachel Held Evans, A Year of Biblical Womanhood

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. You can find summaries of that series on his Public Theology Channel on YouTube.

Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders)

Proverbs 1:20-33 Wisdom wants our attention, but apparently we, in general, don’t want to give it. Daniel lures Bo into love of this passage by reframing it in light of Jesus as the wisdom of God.

Psalm 19 The question of whether we can hear comes back at us. Bo tries to convince Daniel that the Law is good. Daniel takes a rain check.

James 3:1-12 We explore the dynamic equivalence of speech as typing. “Words are not just the dance of the tongue.” Bo Sanders said that. And he also drops this gem on us: “Everyone you meet a seat for the presence of God.” But wait, there’s more! This also applies to ourselves.

Mark 8:27-38 This is the turning of the whole story, from Kingdom in Power to Kingdom through Suffering. The scariest part of all: it transforms our understanding of what discipleship is supposed to be: “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Mark commentary Bo mentioned: Ched Meyers, Binding the Strong Man.

James 2: Favoritism. James’s warning about favoritism gets contextualized into a world of (white) privilege. Daniel can’t resist addressing the (apparent) tension between Paul and James.

Mark 7: Does Jesus change his mind? Does the Syrophoenician woman win the argument? Or did Jesus draw out what he needed to hear and what she needed to be able to say for herself? And what if the “dog” is Rome, the power that takes bread from the table of Jewish children.

Proverbs: What if generosity is the antidote to injustice? And how do we take steps toward justice when the system is rigged against it?

Psalm 125: A thought experiment: what if this Psalm is talking about the person who so entrusts herself to God that she lives out the generosity we were talking about in the Proverbs reading?

We mentioned this awesome resource? Julie Clawson, Everyday Justice.

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land (which will be released October 1 2015) and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Song of Songs 2 Danielle doesn’t want this to be about God and Israel or Christ and the Church, but then Daniel gets all weepy about songs from his days in InterVarsity.

Psalm 45  (Dude’s Got Sex appeal, Part 2) Is this about the king or about God? Well… yes! Daniel rides his human Jesus / exalted human being hobbyhorse. To everyone’s edification, I’m sure.

James 1 Danielle thinks that we should stop trying to make excuses for our anger. Daniel tells a great story from the days of his misspent youth, when he completely threw himself under the bus.

Mark 7  Law-keeping is always better than adhering to traditions of the elders. Except when it isn’t. We explore the sorts of purity laws we still try to cling to, and what they tell us about ourselves.

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land (which will be released October 1 2015) and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

John 6 Danielle leads us into an exploration of offense: why are we offended so easily, and, really, what does Jesus have to do with that? Daniel tries to make Jesus’ ascension offensive. He’s not sure he pulled it off, but he gave it a good go.

1 Kings 8  The Shekinah glory comes on down—but is the Temple really an improvement over the Tabernacle? Daniel wants us to reimagine this Temple story in light of the New Testament. Jesus, the people, and persons are all described as God’s Temple.

Psalm 84   The idea that the Temple provides special access to God continues to find counterpoint in the reality that people find strength from God far and wide.

Ephesians 6 We’re putting on the full armor of God—and finding that the militaristic picture aims for an anti-militaristic goal.

 Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land (which will be released October 1 2015) and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

1 Kings  Does God choose to be limited to the authorized places of worship? Danielle suggests that seeking knowledge of good and evil wasn’t so bad for Adam and Eve, and it’s certainly good for Solomon.

Psalm 111  Together we plumb the psychology of our modern aversion to giving God credit. What are we afraid of and how do we get over it?

Ephesians 5  Wisdom… again! But how do we know what the will of the Lord is? Danielle tries to stick Daniel with answering what it means that the days are evil. And then she gives him the biggest guilt trip ever about watching a Facebook video.

John 6 We plumb the age old question: what on earth is Jesus talking about?!?!

 Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land (which will be released October 1 2015) and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

John 6 Tripp and Daniel get all deep about naming Jesus wrongly even when we have our facts straight. Tripp breaks down how Jesus as Logos of God opens up a way for us to see how God has worked across all peoples.

Ephesians 4-5  We think through ways to trick people (in Christian love, of course!) into seeing ways that we are not the truth tellers we might like to think we are. And then there’s that pesky language of sacrifice…

2 Samuel 18 Finding compassion for David after he’s had a pretty rough month in the Lectionary. Maybe we can find compassion for ourselves as well?

Psalm 130 Assuming the posture from which we can receive forgiveness, and entrust ourselves to God. Can the church give permission for people to be in a process where they are waiting and hoping rather than all put together?

JRDK mentioned the Westminster Larger Catechism. Please don’t tell. But if you want the link, here it is.

Don’t forget to head over to Amazon and pre-order Tripp’s new Jesus book!

2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a & Psalm 51 

Back to David’s abuse of power: Uriah’s wife and a wee ewe lamb. We remember that the Old Testament isn’t a collection of hero stories. We reflect on storytelling and awakening. Then the big question: is sin against God alone?! Tripp lays it down for us.

For more on sin check out Fall to Violence by Marjorie Suchocki. It’s epic.

Ephesians 4 Tripp shames everyone into not preaching on this text, but then provides the most epic sermon title ever when he drops, “The Kingdom of God and Retirement Plans.” Talk about a conundrum.

John 6:24-35 Linking “only believe” with John’s logos Christology. Daniel said “proceeds from the Father” like a good Nicene Christian! Tripp wants you to be nice to the people who come for shallow reasons, Daniel’s a little harder on the crowds. So you’ll have to choose: nice like Tripp or mean like Daniel?

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Tripp Fuller
Tripp is a husband to Alecia, Father to Elgin & Khora, a minister, avid Laker fan, competitive home brewer, & a theology nerd pursuing a PhD at Claremont Graduate University. Currently he is the Director for Theology and the Humanities at the Hatchery in Redondo Beach, CA. He is also the self-proclaimed president of the John Cobb fan club where he holds the title of #FANiac in Chief. Check out his book The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to Jesus: Lord, Liar, Lunatic or Just Freaking Awesome.

Follow Tripp on Twitter because that’s his favorite form of distraction.

John 6  What does 5,000 mean, and for whom is this a miracle anyway? We break down the feeding narrative and Passover, and how to navigate the idea that the miracle is found in everyone sharing their lunch. With a little help from Bultmann. SPOILER ALERT: the story is actually about Jesus.

2 Samuel 11:1-15 Tripp wonders if David and Bathsheba really should be a youth group text. JRDK wants you to call rape rape. The benefits of stopping before David: recognizing our own need for grace, and the destructive nature of our twisted cover-ups.

Psalm 14  The patronizing Christian says to the atheist a fool. Kirk can’t add 2 + 2. Tripp sets the record straight about Anselm and Psalm 14: it’s the Christian who is a fool when s/he doesn’t try to know God. Kirk brings it back to the Bible. As he does. But only to say that Tripp is right.

Ephesians 3 Paul comes in to back Anselm’s play: there is God, who is in relationship with the world, and this has some implications for knowledge and ethical action.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Tripp Fuller
Tripp is a husband to Alecia, Father to Elgin & Khora, a minister, avid Laker fan, competitive home brewer, & a theology nerd pursuing a PhD at Claremont Graduate University.  He is also the self-proclaimed president of the John Cobb fan club where he holds the title of #FANiac in Chief.

Follow Tripp on Twitter because that’s his favorite form of distraction.

2 Samuel 7 God is identified with the story of the people, but God is going to be in charge of how it plays out. Tripp tells the form/content distinction to step off. Daniel wants you to know that “son of God”—it does not mean what you think it means. He also wants you to buy A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels. But it’s not out yet, so you’ll just have to read Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? as a stopgap.

Psalm 89 God and the king are enmeshed. But it’s God’s gift on God’s terms. JRDK gets a little excited about humans controlling the waters.

Ephesians The son of God language gets applied to everyone. And that’s awesome! Then Tripp invokes the Nicene Creed while JRDK excuses himself for a cup of coffee. Presence of God and Temple is post law, post place, and post tribe. And Tripp didn’t know it, but he gave an NT Wright reading of the identity of the people of God. (Shhhh… don’t tell!)

Mark 6 Jesus is king—he speaks for God, brings physical nourishment, exercises authority over waters, and brings physical restoration to bodies. Tripp encourages us to not only imitate Jesus but also imitate the crowd in opening themselves to God.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Tripp Fuller
Tripp is a husband to Alecia, Father to Elgin & Khora, a minister, avid Laker fan, competitive home brewer, & a theology nerd pursuing a PhD at Claremont Graduate University.  He is also the self-proclaimed president of the John Cobb fan club where he holds the title of #FANiac in Chief.

Follow Tripp on Twitter because that’s his favorite form of distraction.

Bo Sanders wraps up his first tour of duty on LectioCast with a four-point sermon on being God’s beloved children and a disclosure of something that only his therapist knew before. This week we see the arrival of all sorts of kings, from God to David to Jesus to us.

Texts for the Week include 2 Samuel 6, Psalm 24, Ephesians 1:3-14 & Mark 6:14-29.

2 Samuel 6: The kingship of David evolves: military power and priesthood. Is he exceeding his boundaries or growing into a larger blessing? Follow us through the complexity.

Psalm 24: Daniel and Bo go crazy thinking about ways that the king of glory might arrive: in the Temple, in Jesus, in the exaltation, and in our world. The sacredness of God’s holy place can blow up to fill the earth.

Ephesians 1:3-14: Bo goes hardcore gospel on us and drops an impromptu four-point sermon on what it means to be embraced into God’s family. Then Daniel takes the special particularity of the family and looks for it to overflow to the whole earth. (And this is where you loop back to Ps 24…)

Mark 6:14-29: JRDK comes out of the gate with a HUGE spoiler. You’ll have to listen though, because the only thing worse than a spoiler is a spoiler telling you what the spoiler said. Bo opens up to us as he has only before opened up to his therapist. If you can get through all that, there’s some awesome entrees to the Jesus story and the kingdom of God.

Book alluded to: David Lamb, God Behaving Badly

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders) 

Texts for the Week: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 Psalm 48, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 & Mark 6:1-13

2 Samuel 5 We embrace the image of David as a good guy, at least for this week, drawing connections between David’s job and what Moses and Joshua did. Daniel also invites you to let go of your inhibitions and see a slew of parallels between David and Jesus.

Psalm 48 Somehow Jerusalem can be both city of David and city of God. If it’s city of God it’s because God has chosen to pour out God’s love there, to identify with the city, and to make a place where God can be met.

2 Cor 12 “I have a friend who has a rash.” And I think you all know what I’m talking about. *ahem* Then Bo shows us how to break down Paul’s thorn in the flesh—all in the service of clearing the decks to grab hold of the grace of God that Paul serves up for us.

Mark 6 That moment when… Jesus can’t do what he wants. *gulp* Only to have it offset by Jesus empowering his followers to do what he couldn’t do on his own. *whew*

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.s

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders) 

Listen as Daniel restrains himself, only with greatest effort, from launching into a full-on 80s rap music demo. Bo Sanders joins again for conversation about how God’s economy transforms the economies of the world. Swords and armies, forgiveness in action, mannah from heaven, dangerous faith—these tell us about how God is (or isn’t) being made known in and through God’s people.

Texts for the Week: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 & Mark 5:21-43

2 Samuel 1 Is the departure of Israel’s sword and spear in the hands of Saul and Jonathan a good thing or bad? Daniel and Bo explore the ambiguity of David’s song.

Psalm 130 Bo walks us through how this psalm might be a gift for a congregation dealing with tragedy. Our trust in God is wrapped up in God’s willingness to deliver and forgive. Daniel gets Bo to say “Amen.”

2 Cor 8 No joke here, Bo and Daniel go deep into the single most important thing Christians have to learn about our faith. We talk economy. God’s economy is not the economy of the world. Mannah isn’t just a story of the past, it’s the way God works, a way that we’re called to participate in.

Mark 5 Leaky Jesus! Dangerous approaches. Daniel talks about the necessity of being laughed at and Bo compensates by going deeply compassionate and pastoral.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders) 

The texts this week include 1 Samuel 17:32-49, Psalm 9:9-20, 2 Cor 6:1-13 & Mark 4:35-41

Homebrewed’s own Bo Sanders joins Daniel Kirk for the latest installment of LectioCast.

1 Sam 17 Bo lays out the four smooth stones for tackling the David and Goliath story. Daniel discovers a surprise ending to the story but can’t touch Malcom Gladwell.

Psalm 9 Daniel channels Cornel West. He even wants us to embrace the corporate recitation of psalms that ask God to judge and smite our enemies—but don’t hold either against him until you hear why. Bo and Daniel agree that our problems are God problems. And if Bo and Daniel agree, that’s pretty much gospel truth.

2 Cor 6 Daniel apparently gets jealous of Bo’s four-point sermons, because he drops his own three-pointer to break down 2 Cor 6. Daniel and Bo try to embrace the upside-down understanding of the world that Paul models for us.

Mark 4 Storms are more than nature. Can Jesus the teacher overcome demonic powers? Ps 89 looms in the background. We catch a glimpse of God as someone dynamically engaged with the world—even our own worlds.

Bo gets the quest for a tagline started. Please bail him out. I think it’s safe to say that need some help here. We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments section.

Endnotes: Here are the three books Bo mentioned in the episode.

Malcom Gladwell, David and Goliath

Ched Meyers, Binding the Strong Man (commentary on the Gospel of Mark)

Brian McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus 

Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Bo is wrapping up a PhD in Practical Theology at Claremont School of Theology while in full-time ministry. He is a pastor, coffee shop theologian, tattoo evangelist, and a soccer fan. His field of Practical Theology has an inter-disciplinary approach which allows him to be engaged in a wide analysis of diverse subjects. Academically, he is in conversation with 4 main areas of study including Sociology of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Comparative Theology.

You can find his HomeBrewed Blogs here. You might want to start with his 3 part series of ‘Why I’m Into Practical Theology‘, ‘Constructivism‘, and ‘When Good Isn’t Enough‘. He also had a popular series this Sumer on the ABC’s of Theology. Bo is helping to launch an emergent style gathering at his church in LA called the Loft, and you can connect with him on Facebook or Twitter (@theBoSanders).

June 14: Third Sunday After Pentecost

Texts this week include: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, Psalm 20, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13) 14-17 & Mark 4:26-34

This is another bunch of texts that’s hard to hold together.

1 Sam is about David’s anointing. Note the place of God in the first paragraphs: sorry God made Saul king, God provides for God’s self an alternative king who will be anointed for God. Contrast the process through which Saul was chosen.

1 Sam also has its own “inward” v “outward” contrast (cf. 2 Cor from last week). God looking at heart. This helps underscore contrast with Saul the tall. Other contrasts with Saul are important: David is taken from tending sheep (shepherding imagery, cf. Moses, etc.) whereas Saul was chasing down lost donkeys. David receives Spirit when he’s anointed, and in the next verse after this passage ends we hear that God’s Spirit departed from Saul.

Psalm 20 is directed toward the king, it seems. Maybe ask the question, Who is the “you” that the psalm addresses? I note also the conjunction of themes of God as warrior and the ability to answer the king’s prayer requests. Interestingly, it’s a psalm for victory in battle, but fighting differently than the nations. Maybe we do a Christologcial riff here on how Jesus brings the Kingdom?

2 Cor 5: there’s that scary line about being judged by our deeds–a sort of eschatological rendition of what we saw in the Psalm: what we do determines who God treats us. On the famous part of the passage, focus on how the whole salvation imagery is cosmic and corporate: new creation, not just new creatures.

Mark 4: surprise of the Kingdom. Maybe this is like the OT passages: it’s not what we can see standing in power and glory, but KoG is hidden in weak and small things. In the mustard seed parable there might be an allusion to Dan 4:12, an image of the reign extending over the whole earth.

The texts this week are 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15), 16-20 (11:14-15), Psalm 138, 2 Cor 4:13-5:1 & Mark 3:20-35.

This week we discuss…

• Luther’s commentary on idolatry
• the desire to escape God through religion
• why God is against having kings
•  participating in the resurrection without escapism
• God’s work in and through our suffering
• the conversion of imagination
• Jesus’ style of Messiahship
• the oppression of religious & family narratives
• where babies (and Jesus’ brothers) come from
• the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit (Daniel is against it)

LectioCast aims to get your sermon/service prep jumpstarted by homing in on crucial issues and themes in
the passages and talking through possible opportunities and issues in preaching the various texts.

LectioCast on Feedburner
LectioCast on Stitcher
LectioCast on iTunes
Browse the episodes here.

It is time for Trinity Sunday! 

Tripp joins Daniel for a discussion of this coming Sunday’s lectionary texts. In the conversation you will discover just what Isaiah’s call story has to do with the Trinity, delve into the Biblical notion of ‘glory’ and explore the invitation to participate in the divine life. Daniel will give a special shout out to youth ministers and Tripp will insist that God has refused to the be God without us.

The texts for the week are Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29, Romans 8:12-17, and John 3:1-17

#LectioCast aims to get your sermon/service prep jumpstarted by homing in on crucial issues and themes in the passages and talking through possible opportunities and issues in preaching the various texts. We’ll aim for Lectionary commentary that is sharp and practical, maybe seasoned with a pinch of snark.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is nearing completion. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com /  jrdkirk.com. You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Homebrewed Christianity is proud, pumped, thrilled and down right tickled to release the first episode of the new podcast stream. The LectioCast will be a weekly podcast that tackles the lectionary texts for the upcoming week. With the good Dr. Daniel Kirk leading the exegetical charge we are sure that the preachers, teachers, and small group leaders who work with the lectionary each week will be getting some great Bible geek content each week. Plus if you just like reading the Bible you can listen, enjoy and share it as well.

#LectioCast aims to get your sermon/service prep jumpstarted by homing in on crucial issues and themes in the passages and talking through possible opportunities and issues in preaching the various texts. We’ll aim for Lectionary commentary that is sharp and practical, maybe seasoned with a pinch of snark.

This week is Pentecost and the texts are Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 104:24-37, Acts 2:1-21 and John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is nearing completion. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com /  jrdkirk.com. You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.