Stewardship Episodes

Jesus warns a crowd about covetousness. Then He tells a story where nothing is coveted. Read it again. No neighbor’s field. No brother’s portion. Nothing stolen. Nothing envied. The rich man deals entirely in what is lawfully his — my fruits, my barns, my goods. If covetousness means wanting what belongs to another man, this parable misses its own point. It doesn’t. You’ve been carrying the wrong definition. A man interrupts Jesus mid-sermon: Master, speak to my brother, that he divide ...

For three thousand years the prophets mocked the idols of the nations with a single taunt: "They have mouths, but they speak not... there is no breath at all in the midst of it" (Psalm 115:5; Habakkuk 2:19). Every idol in history was silent. Then Revelation 13 describes the day the silence ends — an image made by human hands, given breath, that speaks, deceives, and enforces worship. This podcast highlights a study that builds from the ground up, the way a Berean would. Four footings, poured ...

Well, I started right where I should have in our journey tracing events in the bible where God has lived among men. The Israelites are about to construct the first human-built dwelling for God to live among them. I started today with Exodus 25 and didn’t get very far. I got to thinking about the last commandment (thou shalt not covet), about everything God is doing in this moment. I chased those thoughts. So today’s podcast isn’t not about the place where God lives … but then, as I think about i...

We begin a new series today in Season Five. We are going to walk with God through the bible. It’s a huge endeavor, but the goal is simple. To understand what God wants for mankind and how He actually accomplishes it. We’re not presenting systems or charts. We’re not inventing theology and secret returns to fit a narrative. We are listening and interpreting with the only thing we need, God’s word. You may recognize this as our Berean strategy. Welcome to season 5. It starts right where God start...

When you engage with the Bible and the Holy Spirit, you never know where it is going to lead you. This morning, in my quiet time, I sought to understand the relationship between the old temple and the new temple. That led me to seek a deeper understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit. As you dig into these questions, you can't avoid the garden metaphors that are everywhere, so we chased those metaphors. That led to one of the coolest revelations of all. God is Growing a Garden. Well, it all co...

With yesterday being Tax Day in the US we thought it would be appropriate to dig deeper into the tax trap presented to Jesus. I just did my taxes yesterday. I always wait because I always owe money. After putting in a solid 10 hours just trying to complete the forms and forage through my financial maze, it got me to thinking about how much money really does rule our lives! Often the first thing that comes to mind when you're do your taxes is "I earned this, why isn't it mine?" Then you think abo...

Ok, I certainly didn't think this is where the conversation was going. I'm an American! Money is a good thing right? Well, the more I dig, the more I discover. The more my eyes are open. I'll be the first to admit that this deep dive caught me off guard and I'm supposed to be the one producing the podcast! What we arrived probably takes 4 years of economics undergrad study and boils it down to a 30-minute indictment of money in the world. In our last deep dive, we saw Jesus completely dismantle...

We are on the temple courts during Jesus' last week. The Parable of the Evil Vine-Growers is perhaps the most scathing indictment that Jesus has ever given confronting the religious elite head on. No stone is left unturned (pun intended). It should be no secret that we use AI in our Bible study with strict guardrails to only use scripture and not external interpretations or commentary. That is what we have commonly referred to as our Berean Filter. We let the Bible speak for itself and we us...

We are with Jesus leaving Jericho on the way to the cross. There is this expectation within the disciples that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem that the Kingdom will just magically appear. Jesus answers this concern with Luke: the Parable of the Tin Minas and a parallel passage in Matthew. We study this out and come away with a very clear understanding of judgement and expectations. This is about the believers, the unbelievers and the fruitless inbetweeners. These parables offer truth on so many ...

I wrestled with what to title this podcast. Just after Jesus is confronted by James and John (and their mother) to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom, a new play is sent out from the sidelines. Jesus huddles up with his disciples with a play that, let's be honest, neither they nor we are familiar with. And that is why it can feel awkward when Jesus says that the greatest among you is your slave. This idea is impossible to capture in a short podcast. Where Jesus is going is quite radi...

I think we've all heard the story of the Rich Young Ruler. But very often the entire story gets flattened to be about money and wealth. As we got into this, the entire theology of grace emerges. Once we came to the root of this passage, we got into a discussion about stewardship which was useful and then we circled back to probably the most profound point of the passage... a discussion of what is good, why try to do good and trying to understand the love of the Father. That last part comes from ...

Just when you think we were finished with the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus gives us the epilogue! We are back following Jesus on our Red-Letter journey with The Parable of the Shrewd Manager. This parable is often discussed and debated. We'll get into that confusion. Perhaps part of the confusion is the reader often reads this parable in isolation. I think that is a huge mistake. We left the Parable of the Prodigal son with many unresolved questions. We can look at this parable's relati...

How many times have you heard that we are created in the image of God? A lot, right? And more often than not, the person that speaks that phrase is conflating the meaning as if we are clones and replicas of God Himself. We want to dispel that myth. Notes for Bearing God's Image Episode link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/bearing-gods-image/

Luke 14:25–33 stands among the most penetrating and demanding teachings of Jesus. After decades of studying this concept (not always in the Bible - I lived most of my adult life as an atheist), its weight still presses deeply, not because the English is startling or abrupt—though it is—but because the concepts Jesus sets forth cut to the very structure of human existence. The pivotal realization is this: Scripture permits no such thing as a “free spirit.” The notion of the untethered, self-gover...

Yesterday, in Church, we covered 1 Corinthians 9. In our Red-Letter journey, we encounter Peter being asked if Jesus pays the temple tax. It turns out that these two scriptures dovetail really well! So today, we launch off that question to Peter and dig deep into Jesus' response. Let's Go Fishing! Notes to Yes We Have No Drachmas Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/yes-we-have-no-drachmas/