Brown Paper Theology

Man, what a special episode today, friends! In it, we wrap up the awesome scroll/book we call Genesis. The whole story thus far has been leading up to this moment, and within it, we see how God’s plan for humanity as a whole is truly linked to Jacob and his 70 descendants in Egypt. These stories about Joseph and his brothers are familiar, but I hope looking at them through the lens of the Eden Mel...

We wrap up Jacob's story in today's episode, my friends. We'll see the biblical author (or authors) take us through one more iteration of the pattern presented in Genesis 1-9: Creation, Failure, De-creation, Re-creation. But what's really cool (and sometimes not so cool) is how this story breaks the pattern. Instead of brothers separating, brothers are reconciled. Instead of the flood being used t...

In this episode, we begin the story of Israel’s progenitor: Israel (aka Jacob). This guy is quite a character! As we go through his story, we’ll be shocked that God consistently works through this man who wants to steal the blessing God wants to give him. But as with Abraham, we will see God’s utter faithfulness to His human project shine through. Small correction: I meant to say Primeval History,...

In this episode, we wrap up Abraham's time on the narrative stage. His story is all about how God is faithful to bless even when His blessed one acts in contrast to His desires. But there is a beautiful glimmer of trust in this story. Matching his faithful "yes" to God in Genesis 12, we see Abraham's faithfulness and trust atop a mountain in Genesis 22. Because of this trust, the story can move fo...

In today’s episode, we begin Abraham’s story. This guy marks the transition from “Primeval History” to “Patriarchal History” in the book of Genesis. In the grand story as a whole, this is the spot where God begins His redemptive work for the cosmos and those within it. Because of that, we really need to absorb and understand what’s happening here, and we are invited to delight in God’s amazing fai...

To close out the opening movement of the biblical story in general and Genesis in particular, today we dive into the story of the Tower of Babel, the tower “with its head in the skies.” As we’ll see in this episode, more happens at the Babel event than first meets the eye, and we have to look forward to Deuteronomy to understand exactly what that was. What did happen adds a third problem to the Se...

The Flood story in Genesis 6-9 is a controversial one for many reasons, and the questions that we want answered because of it (Was it global or local? When did this happen? How big was the boat exactly?) are super important to ponder. However, those questions must be secondary to learning why this story is told. It is a story of lament and cosmic collapse, but we will see that it is not the end. G...

In this episode, we continue to deepen our understanding of holiness and how it applies to us as Jesus’ people. This is Part 2 from a previous episode, and it is another from the Kids in Care ministry through my church. Show Music: Chillpeach - Gameplay

We explore the tragic but important story of Cain and Abel in today’s episode. Far more than just a moralistic tale about taking care of your sibling, this story furthers the theology behind at-the-tree moments, and it continues to flesh out all the manifestations of that choice. Show Music: Chillpeach - Gameplay

Genesis is an amazing book, and going through it slowly is so vital. In this session, we plod through chapters 2-3 and see God’s generous call and humanity’s unfortunate decision to not answer it. We go from ideal to exile, from temple to wilderness.

This episode is another from my church's Kids in Care ministry. In it, we explore the concept of holiness and how we may already understand this heady biblical word better than we think.

In this episode, we explore the beauty that is Genesis 1. Our main focus is trying to learn what the original authors wanted us to hear and to see the answers to the questions they were asking rather than the ones we traditionally approach the text with. We must internalize the meaning of this text as we move forward with our study of The Story. My and my wife’s precious son makes an appearance in...

In this episode, we explore an undeniably important biblical concept: righteousness. This comes from my church’s Kids in Care ministry. This ministry has the mission of providing biblical teaching and encouragement to kids who are in really rough situations. These lessons go to foster care facilities, and as such, the tone and content are geared toward that audience. But the core truth is preserve...

In this episode, we try to summarize the entire story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.