The Restoration Project Podcast

The author of Ruth begins the book with some "background" information—a famine, a move to a foreign land, death. We usually skip over this stuff to get to the "good stuff," namely, the "romance" between Ruth and Boaz. This week, we paused to give voice to Naomi's grief and bitterness in the midst of horrific loss. We believe that she models an important and (very) human emotion, one that should be...

In this week's teaching, Josh introduces our new summer series by discussing the literary background of the book of Ruth: "During the days when the judges ruled..." To unpack this setting, he provides a very brief overview of the book of Judges, and then reads through what Mieke Bal describes as the "most horrific story in the Hebrew Bible." the restoration project. Joshua James. 4 June 2017

This is TRP's version of a Mother's Day talk, but don't worry ... Josh doesn't attempt to give advice or practical tips on mothering. Rather, he highlights the diversity of "the family" by looking at a few of the unsung stories of notable biblical women. The main text for this talk is Paul's list of names in Romans 16:1-16. (Obviously.) the restoration project. Joshua James. 14 May 2017

In this week's teaching, we revisit the Red Sea crossing, though this time we do so from a poetic lens. For some scholars, such as Terence Fretheim, the form (poetry) and function (liturgy) of Exodus 15 results in the associated images are "even more impressionistic than those in chapter 14." As a result, Josh tried to point us to the goal of the text, namely, its lofty theological claims. the res...

Old Testament scholar, Terence Fretheim, describes the retelling of the Red Sea crossing in Exodus 14 as an "impressionistic picture." He says, "Trying to sort it out in a literal fashion, or suggesting that Israel considered the detail to correspond precisely to reality, is like retouching Renoir’s paintings to make them look like photographs.” Following Fretheim's lead, Josh attempts to outline...

In this week's teaching, the Hebrew people finally leave Egypt. Josh explores three theological implications of the story leading up to the Red Sea crossing: God's leadership, the people's resolve to trust, and the tension between the past and the present. the restoration project. Joshua James. 23 April 2017 Small Group Questions: (1) Josh began this talk by noting some "historical problems." One...

We took a break from our Exodus series this week to celebrate Easter...even though there are some cool Easter ties to the Exodus story! After reading the resurrection story from Matthew, Josh discusses its significance and invites us in to the experience (and reality) of new creation. the restoration project. Joshua James. 16 April 2017 Small Group Study Questions (1) Josh begins this talk with an...

The tenth plague—the death of the firstborn—has long troubled interpreters of the Bible. In this teaching, Josh offers some guidance on reading the story in its OT context, and then advances its implications to the NT and to Jesus. the restoration project. Joshua James. 9 April 2017 Small Group Study Questions: (1) Are you troubled by the tenth plague (the killing of the Egyptian firstborn)? If so...

This week's teaching sort of turned into a two-parter. In the first part, Josh talks about the literary artistry/shaping of the Bible, particularly, in the (multiple) retellings of the plague narratives. As he attempts to demonstrate, the traditions of the plagues sounds important notes for how we approach Old Testament history in general. The main section of the teaching focuses on praying for en...

Old Testament scholar, John Walton, writes, "Effective communication requires a body of agreed-upon words, terms, and ideas." When we read the OT—an ancient and diverse collection of writings—we sometimes miss the nuances in the communication of this ancient people due to our cultural and temporal distance. In this week's teaching, Josh tries to bring one of these embedded nuances to life in Exodu...

This week's podcast is less "teaching" and more "interactive and prayerful listening." Instead of pointing out all of the minute details of our passage and instead of reaching a point of application, Josh leads a form of "lectio divina." Our text for this week is the beginning portion of Exodus 6, where God speaks to Moses (again), this time after his failed attempt to request Pharaoh's release of...

In this week's teaching, Josh explores the main themes of Exodus 5 with the help of some prompts from Walter Brueggemann's exquisite commentary. These themes are categorized as: the church and politics, the church and consumerism/busyness, the church and the (comfortable) middle, the church and impatience/lack of faith/unbelief, and the church and Jesus. the restoration project. Joshua James. 12 M...

First, it should be noted that we had some technical difficulties with our computer on Sunday night (as you'll hear), so a little bit of fancy editing was necessary to make this "listenable." And what a week it was for some technical difficulties! This is the passage where God was on the verge of killing someone (probably Moses, though we aren't 100% sure), while he was on the way to Egypt. In res...

In this week's teaching, Josh tries to tackle both the nerdy and the practical issues emerging from the extended dialogue between Moses and God at the burning bush. the restoration project. Joshua James. 26 February 2017 Small Group Questions: (1) What were Moses' five objections to God's call? Can you relate to his sense of self-doubt/unwillingness? (2) Walter Brueggemann explains the divine reve...

As we continue our study in the book of Exodus, Josh describes the "deep social conflict and violence" and the character of Moses in 2:11-22. What we find is an escalating struggle between the Hebrews and the Egyptians, and a "home-less" or "identity-less" Moses, who consistently (if not impetuously) advocates for the "weak." We are also provided a snapshot of the plight of the "Israelites," and t...

This week in our study on Exodus, we focus on the birth of Moses. Interestingly, the story is less about Moses, and more about the women in his life, who defy the edict of the empire (in their own unique ways) and collectively fight for his life. As Cheryl Exum notes, in the opening chapter of Exodus, "the courage of women is the beginning of liberation." Josh attempts to weave these themes togeth...

In this week's teaching, Josh discusses the arrival of a new king in Egypt and his fear-based policies that were meant to protect his own empire. In contrast to this, the text also introduces Shiphrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives, who are fearful of something altogether more powerful. the restoration project. Joshua James. 29 January 2017 Small Group Study Questions: (1) Most scholars view the fi...

In this week's introduction to the book of Exodus, Josh explores the necessity of setting the proper context of a biblical book. For Exodus, that means looking back to Genesis. Josh also touches on the "use" of Exodus in the later OT period and for the NT authors, which helps us to see potential connections for us, here and now. the restoration project. Joshua James. 22 January 2017 *Note: The com...

Josh gives a call to action that can be boiled down to this: we need you. Listen in and join us! the restoration project. Joshua James. 1 January 2017

In this final week of Advent, Josh talks about the ancient Near Eastern context of Isaiah 7:14 (the text about the virgin birth). We usually read this passage only in light of the book of Matthew, but it's important to understand what was going on the 8th century BC to see how Jesus truly becomes "God with us." the restoration project. Joshua James. 18 December 2016

In this week's teaching, Josh explores Isaiah's prophecy about a "shoot growing up from the stump of Jesse" and the transformative effects it will bring about. It's not necessarily your typical Christmas message, but it is timely, particularly as it deals with issues of power and privilege. the restoration project. Joshua James. 04 December 2016

The New Testament lectionary passages for this week focus our attention on the Second Coming of Jesus and encourage us to live out our faith while we wait. the restoration project. Joshua James. 27 November 2016

In this week's teaching, guest speaker and UMC pastor, Zac Wheeler, discusses forgiveness. the restoration project. Zac Wheeler. 20 November 2016

This week, Josh discusses baptism by looking at some of the "baptisms" in the Old and New Testament. the restoration project. Joshua James. 13 November 2016

How do you view the Church? What has your experience been? How do you view your role in it? In this teaching, Josh discusses the Nicene phrase that describes the Church as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." the restoration project. Joshua James. 6 November 2016