The Restoration Project Podcast

One more week hanging out in Jesus' 30 verse diatribe against the religious leaders. This week, we are focused on the bit about resurrection, and what that would have meant to Jesus' first-century Jewish interlocutors. The thing is...Jesus sets the typical expectation on its head, maybe not so much in this passage, but in his own death and resurrection. It was unexpected, and it changed everything...

This teaching builds on last week's miracle story. (Don't worry, there's enough recap that you don't *need to go back, even though...you should!) Jesus rattles off a long monologue to the religious leaders in support of why he is doing the things he is doing. Josh focuses on one of the "witnesses" that testify on behalf of Jesus — the Scriptures. the restoration project. Joshua James. 10 February...

In this week's teaching, Josh challenges a *typical reading of Jesus' healing of the disabled man at the Pool of Bethesda. Here's the gist...the story is about more than a miracle. Jesus is undoing some long held traditions surrounding the Pool ... and even more controversially, the Sabbath. the restoration project. Joshua James. 3 February 2018

In this story, Jesus starts healing some folks. But before we can get into that, Josh takes us on a little "gospel criticism" detour. the restoration project. Joshua James. 27 January 2019

the restoration project. Joshua James. 6 January 2019

the restoration project. Joshua James. 16 December 2018

In this week's teaching, the lectionary focuses on the work of John the Baptist. Because we've had a couple of recent sermons on his ministry, Josh focuses on one (odd) detail: John's relationship to the powerful people of his time. the restoration project. Joshua James. 9 December 2018

Sometimes the timing of our assigned text and the experiences of real life coincide quite nicely. This week, the text addresses the jealousy of John's disciples at the emergence of Jesus' ministry. Though the contexts are quite different, Josh uses the story to address some of his own issues. the restoration project. Joshua James. 18 November 2018

the restoration project. Joshua James. 11 November 2018

the restoration project. Joshua James. 4 November 2018

In this recurring series, Josh discusses some of the unique traits of The Restoration Project. In this teaching, he talks about the theological openness of the community and its benefits for spiritual growth and discipleship. the restoration project. Joshua James. 28 October 2018

This is a fun passage. We've got some more differences between John and Matthew, Mark, and Luke to discuss. And we've got the "carefully choreographed street theatre" of the temple cleansing itself. It is theologically loaded. When read together with the miracle at the wedding in Cana, Jesus expands on his initiation of a new work (which includes a powerful critique of the current system of his da...

Jesus' first miracle in the book of John isn't just a cool party trick (though I'm sure the party goers were thankful). It's part announcement of a new era, part identification of Jesus as messiah, part advocacy for a family on the brink of social disgrace. It's also worth our consideration. the restoration project. Joshua James. 14 October 2018

Who doesn't love learning about ancient Jewish interpretive traditions? We sure do! And it's a good thing, because in this week's teaching, Josh explores some of the ways ancient readers understood the story of Jacob's Ladder (Genesis 28). Here's the argument, this background information (completely) informs what the author does with the story of Philip and Nathanael in the New Testament *and* how...

This teaching is sort of a two-parter. In the first half, Josh talks about the internal struggle of "teaching with honesty" and "just giving you Jesus." In the second part, he looks at the text and asks the question, "what do you want?" the restoration project. Joshua James. 30 September 2018

In this teaching, Josh focuses on the chronology of John's Gospel, particularly, the events leading up to Jesus' death, in order to explain John the Baptist's use of the phrase "the lamb of God." That was kind of wordy. You got it? Good. When you read the Bible closely, cool stuff comes to the surface. the restoration project. Joshua James. 23 September 2018

I had some stuff to say this week. I don't really know how to classify it. I will say that prior to this teaching, we engaged in a "sacred reading" (also known as by its super spiritual Latin equivalent, "lectio divina") of Luke 3:1-14. This passage informs my thoughts. It would be beneficial to read it prior to listening to my talk (but I think you'll be ok if you don't). Much love. - Josh the re...

In this week's teaching, Josh introduces John the Baptist ... well, at least the Gospel of John's version of John the Baptist. With a nod toward art history (I'm sure that will come across beautifully in an audio only format), the preparatory role of John is highlighted. He comes as a witness to "the light." He comes to testify to "the light." What about us? the restoration project. Joshua James....

There is a lot going on in the introduction to John's Gospel. If we were to concentrate on any one of the themes, we could spend weeks unpacking its richness. Here's this week's broad takeaway ... the author used familiar categories/themes/motifs to introduce Jesus to his audience, but he did so in an unfamiliar way. the restoration project. Joshua James. 02 September 2018

TRP Is... Week 01. A Collective of Stories by restoresby

Sermon. August 19, 2018. Suzi Peterson by restoresby

Sermon. August 12, 2018. Doug McKinney by restoresby

the restoration project. Joshua James. 29 July 2018

the restoration project. 22 July 2018 Prayer adapted from _The Worship Sourcebook_, 2nd Edition (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2013).

the restoration project. Joshua James. 22 July 2018