Commons Church Podcast

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. –2 Timothy 3:16–17 We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean? We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other time...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. –2 Timothy 3:16–17 We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean? We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other time...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. –2 Timothy 3:16–17 We all know the Scriptures are “inspired” but what exactly does that mean? We know they are infused with beauty and we sense the divine in and through them in moments as we read. But at other time...

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times? Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we wil...

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times? Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we wil...

Take a moment to remember how many times you’ve been angry or irritated this week. No really, check in with yourself. Were you angry once, twice, two hundred times? Maybe something tiny triggered you. Maybe something massive enraged you. Maybe your anger feels so constant you don’t know life without it. The scriptures honour all of these layers, and when we lean in to listen to their words, we wil...

It seems like we have a bit of a problem. St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest. The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm. And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths...

It seems like we have a bit of a problem. St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest. The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm. And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths...

It seems like we have a bit of a problem. St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest. The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm. And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths...

It seems like we have a bit of a problem. St. James warned his friends that their words were like sparks that had the power to burn down a forest. The Jewish poets noted that while our mouths contain the power to bless and bring life, they also have the ability to destroy and harm. And the noted Persian mystic Rumi instructed his readers to shut up like an oyster shell because, well, their mouths...

We’re here! Easter is the festival of festivals! The Queen of Feasts! This is the day we wait for. This is the day of new life. And with all we celebrate today, Easter is the day that shapes every day to come. So hear, repeat, and return to this prayer in the Easter season. It’s a beauty and it’s a benediction. *** Beyond Easter we go singing. Having been seized by resurrection we are full of tear...

We are approaching Easter, seen as the greatest festival in the church calendar. But, we’re not there yet. We have a week to go and an ancient path to follow. Egeria, a woman who was either a nun or an abbess from Spain or Gaul, left behind a diary from her time in the Holy Land (ca. 381-384). In it, she writes in detail about services in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, worshippers celebrate and rehear...

It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.  The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty obs...

It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.  The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty obs...

It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.  The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty obs...

It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.  The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty obs...

It’s not always easy to see ourselves as we truly are. But stories can help. When we listen carefully to a story that is authentic to the human experience, we come to know ourselves in new ways.  The book of Jonah is one such story. Despite its rather fantastical qualities, the story of Jonah is a real human tale. A story of human failure and divine grace, a story of the interplay between duty obs...

This is it. Back in Rome for a final time. Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ. Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine. How we look at each other. How we talk about faith. So,...

In Romans 16 Paul names a number of women in prominent roles within the early church. But then in his letters to Corinth and Timothy, he seems to take a different tone. What is going on here? Should we try to harmonize these passages? Here's a bit of a deeper dive. ★ Support this podcast ★

This is it. Back in Rome for a final time. Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ. Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine. How we look at each other. How we talk about faith. So,...

This is it. Back in Rome for a final time. Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ. Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine. How we look at each other. How we talk about faith. So,...

This is it. Back in Rome for a final time. Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ. Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine. How we look at each other. How we talk about faith. So,...

This is it. Back in Rome for a final time. Chapter by chapter, we’ve worked through this lengthy letter from the Apostle Paul. Along the way marking how his theology transformed as he grappled with the story of God in Christ. Along the way, we’ve grown, and we’ve continued to let the gracious way of Jesus alter the way we think of the Divine. How we look at each other. How we talk about faith. So,...

Swipe Right is a phrase that entered the common lexicon through the arrival of Tinder, an app designed to help people skip past the hard work of investing in the kind of healthy mature relationships we all really long for. But here’s the truth; healthy relationships are a matter of life-and-death importance because we are far more than sexual beings; we are human beings with all that is entailed....

Recap: 2:11 Polished Ivory: 10:33 Black and Beautiful: 15:14 Sex Drives: 23:10 Reintegration: 27:32 Swipe Right is a phrase that entered the common lexicon through the arrival of Tinder, an app designed to help people skip past the hard work of investing in the kind of healthy mature relationships we all really long for. But here’s the truth; healthy relationships are a matter of life-and-death im...