By the Well

Megan Turton, a specialist on law in the Hebrew Bible, joins us to talk about the Decalogue and legal narrative in Exodus. Holiness, identity, and mutual covenant are key themes to explore. In the gospel reading, conflict continues between Jesus and the other Jewish leaders. We discuss the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 21 and the challenge of preaching such passages without repeating the anti...

Questions of Jesus’ authority – an ongoing focus in Matthew –  now come to the fore in the parable from chapter 21, as Jesus’ challenge to the temple authorities escalates. The theme of consistency, being publicly honest about what one believes, emerges. The gospel is real about our ongoing failure to be consistent. We point to the grace in Christ, the faithful consistent one, and in God who is wi...

The Israelites’ journey to freedom in Exodus is hard and their complaints understandable. The providence of God dominates the passage. God hears and responds to the people, providing what they need and testing their willingness to trust him into the future. God offers equity not ‘equality’ as we understand it, and how that can rile (cf Matthew reading). We note the distinctly political power of th...

Sean Winter, Head of Pilgrim Theological College and Pauline scholar, sits down with Robyn to discuss the themes and setting of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. After some general overview we discuss possible preaching themes in each of the four weeks that Philippians appears in the Year A lectionary – Phil 1:21-30; 2:1-13; 3:4b-14; and 4:1-9. It’s a crash course on the letter to the Philippians!...

Themes of divine power, liberation, creation and salvation weave throughout the Exodus text. We talk about the ways the Crossing of the Red/Reed Sea has been used by oppressed communities to speak into their hope of freedom, and we also name the real violence that is implicit in the story. We note the echoes of Genesis 1; emphasis in Exodus 14/15 isn’t on military victory/conflict, but rather the...

Bill Loader joins the podcast this week to help unpack Matthew’s advice in resolving Christian conflict without gossiping (Mt 18:15-20). We discuss the tension between forgiveness and judgment in this section of Matthew’s Gospel, between holding offenders accountable and the ongoing demand to love them. Exodus 12 tells the story of Passover, a story that undergirds both ancient and living rituals...

Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush is a both a theophany and call story. We note that Moses wasn’t looking for God, rather God took the initiative and sought him out. We unpack the mysterious and playful I AM name for God, and highlight its uniqueness as a verb. God’s dynamic character comes through in God’s numerous actions (hearing, observing, delivering, being with) with and for God’...

Themes of fear, power, enslavement, genocide, and hope for liberation begin early in Exodus setting the tone for what will follow. We focus on the midwives who use their domestic context and skills to thwart the plans of powerful men by rescuing Moses, much like Irena Sendler during WW2.  We unpack some of the images in Matthew 16:13-20, a text which highlights the role of Peter and, metaphoricall...

Meg Warner unpacks the Joseph story through the lens of trauma, noting this is a turning point in the story where reconciliation occurs. We discuss Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 which crosses geographic, ethnic, religious, and purity boundaries. Despite their differences, Jesus recognises her faith and praises her for it in sharp contrast with the “little faith” the disci...

Meg Warner joins the podcast to talk about Joseph, favoritism, family dissension and trauma. We discuss how Joseph’s story is contradictory and ambiguous; that Joseph himself is an enigma – which attention to the nuances of his dreams illustrates. We note that though his story is as long as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s, Joseph is not put in their esteemed company – largely for political reasons. Foc...

Brian Kolia joins the podcast to discuss Jacob’s wrestle with God in Genesis 32:22-31. We point to the humour in this story where God takes on some human characteristics and becomes the trickster, a role that has previously been Jacob’s. Relationship with God is associated with both struggle and blessing here, as well as a new identity. Themes of seeing, darkness, and the hope that comes with dayb...

Brian Kolia joins the podcast to discuss Jacob's wrestle with God in Genesis 32:22-31. We point to the humour in this story where God takes on some human characteristics and becomes the trickster, a role that has previously been Jacob's. Relationship with God is associated with both struggle and blessing here, as well as a new identity. Themes of seeing, darkness, and the hope that comes with dayb...

We continue with the Jacob story in Genesis 29:15-28 where themes emerge about God choosing the unlikely person, that God’s plan does not depend on our righteousness, and that God “sees” those whom the world deems unloveable or unimportant. Romans 8:26-39 speaks to the impossibility of us being separated from God’s love and the parables in Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 offer a range of images to describ...

The Genesis narrative continues as Jacob encounters God in his dream (Gen 28:10-19a). Key themes here include God’s unfailing faithfulness to his covenant and the unexpected places God encounters us – in vulnerability and in the ordinary. Theologically it is significant that God found Jacob, not the other way round. Romans 8:12-29 continues the focus on God’s persistent delight in being in relatio...

The Genesis reading takes us into the “Jacob Cycle” with the story of the twins, Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:19-34).  Themes of miraculous births, younger sons usurping older sons, and duelling nations continue. Theologically, these passages affirm that God chooses the frail, sinful, and broken to receive God’s promises and partner in God’s mission, a theme that continues in Romans 8:1-11. We also disc...

This week the lectionary offers a rare chance to preach on the love poetry known as Song of Songs (Song of Solomon). Hebrew Bible scholar, Brian Kolia, joins the podcast to unpack Genesis 24:34-38, 58-67, Song of Songs 2:8-13, and Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. We compare Abraham’s quest to get a wife for his son with the erotic, body positive, love poetry of Song of Songs. Themes of place, ethnicity, a...

This week Robyn and Fran focus on Genesis 22:1-14 – the sacrifice or binding of Isaac. Is this an appalling story of an appalling God? Or a call to obedience in God at all costs? Or a rejection of child sacrifice? We talk about the text being silent on the characters’ psychological dynamics, because of its theological focus. We also discuss Matthew 10:40-42 and note the costly requirement of follo...

Power, suffering, conflict, fear, and divine promise are themes in the biblical passages this week. Rachel Kronberger , Uniting Church Minister, joins us to discuss preaching the lectionary readings with a focus on Genesis 21:8-21 and Matthew 10:24-39. We note the importance of Genesis 21 for interfaith relationships and how Matthew speaks a word of comfort to Christians who are under threat but a...

Rachel Kronberger joins us this week, the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, when we focus on Genesis 18:1-15 and Matthew 9:35-10:8, with a brief excursus into Romans 5. We trace the covenant promise from Gen 12, and the patience and faith required of Abraham and Sarah. We look closely at Sarah’s role and the subversiveness of her laughter. We note the image of God in Rublev’s (15th cent.) icon with its...

Do you have to talk about the Doctrine of the Trinity on Trinity Sunday? Well, no. But this Sunday, in particular, invites us to explore our image(s) of God and what it means for humans to be in that image (Genesis 1). We discuss the relational nature of the God revealed in these texts, how we keep sabbath, and the call to mission in Matthew 28:16-20. We refer to the Enuma Elish and Ben Myers’ twe...

John Flett joins us this week for a rich conversation about Pentecost and mission. We focus Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23, drawing similarities and contrasts in the way the Spirit is portrayed in each text. We talk joy, peace, freedom, and being sent for the sake of the world, not for our own sake. John outlines ‘what not to do’ in a Pentecost sermon, and then offers a more faithful, radical alter...

Ian Pau l joins the conversation to discuss suffering, hope, glory, and discipleship in 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11. We ask what it means to share in Christ’s suffering (specifically) and how we sustain hope in the midst of suffering. We also touch on the ascension in Acts 1:6-14. Ian Paul blogs about the Bible, theology, and preaching at Psephiz0 . You can find a full list of his publications here ....

For Easter 6 (Acts 17:22-31; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 and  Psalm 66)  Robyn and I begin our discussion with 1 Peter 3 by exploring Peter’s description of, and word of comfort for, the unjust suffering in his community. We look at the curious verse 19 “the spirits in prison” and talk about the significance of Christ descending to the dead.  We talk about the way the scriptures are realistic a...

Christian identity and the nature of Christian community in the midst of suffering are themes that run throughout this week’s readings.  Fran and Robyn discuss Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7), John 14:1-14, and 1 Peter 2:2-10 to unpack the numerous metaphors used throughout.

Michael Bird joins the podcast to discuss how he approaches preaching, the image of the Good Shepherd (Ps 23, John 10), the utopian vision of Acts 2, and what we do with the teaching addressed to slaves in 1 Peter 2:18-25.  We explore Peter’s teaching on not retaliating, non-violence, and imitating Christ. Mike blogs at Euangelion and his most recent book, co-authored with N.T.Wright, is The New T...