Bible Wisdom Today: Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeply

Some decisions are truly life-altering. A high-stakes choice made under severe threat, intense pressure, and high uncertainty. How do we face such a crisis decision? In our episode, today, Abram and Lot, billionaires within the context of their ancient world, face just such a choice. Their massive herds of livestock were pushing the land to its absolute breaking point. They had to split up their o...

Abraham was always a flawless giant of faith, wasn’t he? The biblical reality is far more shocking.  Abraham’s story begins, not with heroic faith in one creator God, but with pagan beliefs within a culture of moon worship, a barren marriage, fear, failure, and a future that seemed impossible. Yet God’s plan for Abraham never depended on Abraham’s worthiness—it depended entirely on God’s grace. In...

What if the problem of the Tower of Babel was never really about architecture? In this episode we explore how this story in Genesis 11, along with the preceding ethnography in chapter 10, work together to demonstrate both the unity and rebellion of humanity. Far from being ancient filler, these chapters reveal the roots of human disunity as well as our united attempt to build life apart from God....

What if the new beginning after the flood wasn’t as new as it seemed?  In Genesis 9, Noah and his family step out into a cleansed world—but not with a cleansed heart. In this episode, we explore how God responds to persistent human sin with both blessing and restraint. You’ll discover how Noah functions as a kind of second Adam, how God’s covenant with humanity provides stability in a broken world...

In this episode, at the very heart of one of the most familiar stories in the Bile, we find a single, easily overlooked line: “God remembered Noah.” It is easy to miss, but if you understand how the story is written, you understand that it is the central point in the whole story.  Today, we are not simply retelling the flood story—you’ve heard it before. We will uncover the literary structure of t...

Today we take a thought-provoking journey through one of the Bible’s most debated stories. Genesis 6 begins with the sons of God marrying the daughters of humans, resulting in the Nephilim. It continues with God’s resolve to judge all humanity except Noah and his family. This strange story of mysterious beings, ancient giants, and a great flood has provoked intense debate for more than two millenn...

What if the Bible’s most overlooked passages held deep truths that you have missed? In this episode we dig deeper beneath the “boring list” of Genesis 5 to uncover rich theological insight hidden within Adam’s family history. With thoughtful reflection, we explore the purpose of biblical genealogies, wrestle honestly with the question of long lifespans, and discover what this passage reveals about...

Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeply The first murder isn’t just history—it’s a mirror. This episode traces the shocking shift from Eden’s innocence to Cain’s murder of Abel, revealing patterns that still shape human nature today. With careful Bible study and thoughtful reflection, we explore what this story reveals about worship, temptation, justice, and the human heart.  2...

In this episode we attempt to answer the age-old question, “Why is life so hard?” by studying the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The serpent’s dialog with the woman provides a model for our own temptation and God’s response to the man and his wife are a model of God’s mercy. Although they are worthy of immediate punishment, God graciously calls them, corrects them, clo...

Systematic Bible teaching for those willing to think deeply In the larger scheme of this world, is my life significant at all?   As we transition from Genesis’ opening hymn to the first narrative section, we discover just how significant we are to God. We are important enough that he formed our body personally and infused us with his breath. He planted a beautiful garden for mankind to live in, ab...

Today, we come to the seventh day of creation where we read that God rested. Why would God rest? Was the all-powerful God exhausted after all his work of creating? In flippantly asking this question, we demonstrate that we are modern people, far removed from the original audience of Genesis. In this episode, we will spend an extended time examining the ancient cultural context, particularly the li...

In this second episode in our study of Genesis, we will continue the story of how God transformed primeval chaos into a functional universe where God may be worshiped. Genesis describes God’s transforming work over a period of seven days, which the biblical author presents in a beautiful literary structure worthy of representing the beauty of God’s universe. Through this compositional framework th...

Welcome to a new series of studies on the Book of Genesis. In this season, we will study the early chapters of Genesis, which relate stories from primeval history, in preparation for studies in the patriarchal history of Abraham and his descendants in a later season. While Genesis is anonymous, Moses has traditionally been considered its author. Scholars have challenged that view in the last 150 y...

This is the final episode in our series on the Gospel of Mark. Today we look at Mark’s story of Jesus’ resurrection, focusing on the boldness of Joseph to request Jesus’ body from Pilate for burial and the devotion of the women who also intended to honor his physical body by anointing him with spices. They were surprised and overwhelmed, however, by an angel who announced that Jesus had been raise...

In this episode we see the final drama in Jesus’ earthly life, as he keeps his agreement with his father to give his life for the salvation of humankind. Jesus single-minded devotion to the purpose of God saw him condemned by Pilate, scourged and mocked by the soldiers, executed on a Roman cross, and abandoned by all around him. This obedience to his calling came at the cost of excruciating pain,...

In this episode, Jesus continues to march resolutely toward his final predetermined destiny. We see the culmination of Judas’ plot to betray his master as Jesus is seized and led away for questioning.  In the presence of the high priest, Jesus unwaveringly gives true testimony before his questioners, even when they resort to false witnesses. He boldly declares his identity, sealing his own condemn...

In Episode 19, Jesus moves determinedly, agonizingly toward his final passion, feeling the full weight of his coming destiny. We see the contrast between the devotion of an unnamed woman anointing Jesus with costly perfume and the treachery of Judas grasping for a few pieces of silver even at the cost of betrayal. We hear Jesus offer himself as a sacrifice, even while he could foresee that all his...

In this episode we dig deeply into Mark chapter 13, the longest block of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Mark. We will take special note of the historical and prophetic contexts which shape our understanding of Jesus’ last teaching. Here, he predicts the coming destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 and uses that event as a prototype to reveal details about his second coming at the end of t...

Jesus’ contest with the Jewish leaders continues when they confront him in the temple with a series of questions. They intend to trap him, but Jesus skillfully addresses each question, discussing the appropriateness of paying taxes to Rome, the resurrection of the dead, and the greatest commandment. These questions still were not adequate to uncover who Jesus was, so he asks them one additional qu...

This episode brings us to the final major section of Mark’s gospel, where events begin to accelerate toward Jesus death and resurrection. All events in this episode are set in the temple or are directly related to it. Mark shows us that Jesus did not come to reform temple worship but to replace it with his own sacrificial death. In this episode we see Jesus’ triumphal arrival at the temple and his...

The mission of Jesus was not what the disciples expected.  Jesus commended the weak for how easily they entered the kingdom and warned how difficult it was for the rich, those his followers assumed were blessed by God, to enter. The disciples expected Jesus to conquer the nation’s enemies achieving great glory, but Jesus predicted how he would suffer, ultimately giving his life to redeem all. Thou...

On occasion I am asked to preach at my local church and today I am sharing one of those sermons with you. This is a break from our current series, but I am releasing it now so that I can maintain my pattern of releasing new episodes every other week, while also enjoying some time away with my wife. This message is based on Matthew 5:1-12, commonly known as the beatitudes. We all want to live our b...

In this episode, Jesus and his disciples continue their journey towards Jerusalem and Jesus continues systematically revealing his mission to his followers. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection a second time and his disciples continue to misunderstand. He also teaches about servant leadership and his radical expectation for disciples. This episode also includes a detailed explanation of Jesus...

In today’s episode, Jesus begins the difficult work of revealing himself clearly to his followers. They now understand that he is the Messiah, but their definition of the Messiah is seriously insufficient. Jesus reveals his that his true mission is to suffer, die, and then to rise again. Not only will he suffer, but his followers will as well. This is far beyond their understanding, and his discip...

This episode brings us to the pivotal point in Mark where the disciples finally begin to understand who Jesus is. Mark ties this section together with many references to sight or the lack of it. First the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven, then Jesus accuses his disciples of being spiritually blind. Next Jesus heals a blind man, but this was an unusual healing. At first the man’s vision r...