Spark Cast

This week is storytime! The book of Esther is not what it seems. While in exile, in an unknown and foreign land, stories like this paradoxically reveal what they conceal.

This conversation centers on Life in Exile in the context of the book of Ezekiel. What does it mean to follow God in a new world, when all your religious practices have been stripped away and deconstructed? Where do we find God when in exile, when we are so far away from the house of God's Name?

Jonah is given an impossible call ... to go and preach repentance to a people who don't deserve it. The book of Jonah isn't just a children's tale about a man being swallowed and vomited by a big fish. The book seeks to transform the hearers, move us to compassion, even love, for our enemies.

Isaiah and Jeremiah voice dire warnings to the people of God. God's judgment is coming and Israel's Kingdom will come crashing down. And yet we are called to a greater hope - God is using all these world events to bring us to repentance and the pursuit of justice. We are not forgotten. God's blessings are not far off.

Israel demands a king like the nations. They make their way from Saul to David to Solomon, but after Solomon dies, the tribes fracture, dividing between north and south. As kings now rule over each kingdom, different prophets are called to speak truth to the powers. As we introduce the role of the prophets in our Grand Narrative, we listen in to what we might also learn from these voices today.

A closer look at the life and legacy of King Solomon.

As we continue navigating the early years of Israel’s monarchy, we quickly reach what Israelites will later look back on as the glory days — a united kingdom ruled by David, a heroic military leader and “a man after God’s own heart”. At the same time, we see a story within this story, in which God uses prophets like Nathan to hold kings like David accountable for the blood on their hands. The life...

“Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul…” Along with the launching of Israel’s monarchy are our hopes and dreams of a Big Strong Man who will heroically save us from all of our problems. The intersecting and conflicting vocations of Samuel as Prophet and Saul as King speak volumes about the many (often harmful) ways we pursue and protect power, highlighting all the more how bold and bi...

Since 2023, Aziz and Moaz have joined forces in their pursuit for peace, traveling globally and sharing their message of peace and hope with all who will listen. Together, they co-lead InterAct International, a non profit advancing sustainability, education, and cross cultural connections. Aziz and Maoz carry the weight of personal tragedies inflicted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but they a...

Since 2023, Aziz and Moaz have joined forces in their pursuit for peace, traveling globally and sharing their message of peace and hope with all who will listen. Together, they co-lead InterAct International, a non profit advancing sustainability, education, and cross cultural connections. Aziz and Maoz carry the weight of personal tragedies inflicted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but they a...

Today is remembered as Pentecost Sunday, a commemoration and celebration of the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the early church. In this special presentation, we witness what the experience may have looked, felt, and sounded like.

During a period when “all the people did what was right in their own eyes,” a story about loving kindness and redemption is told that points to a coming King. Through the book of Ruth, we can understand God’s love, even in seasons of famine. He sees us. He cares for us. He works through us.

If you've only heard snippets of stories from the book of Judges or if this is the first time you've read the book, sit tight, friends. This is going to be a bumpy ride. The book of Judges is filled with repetitive cycles of disobedience, violence, oppression, deliverance, back to disobedience again. Joshua has died and the people are living amongst the Canaanites in the Land and things are gettin...

Joshua is a story of conquest, the Promised Land, and ... violence!? How shall we understand these portions of the Bible?

The word "Deuteronomy" means a "second law." One of the features of this book is the repeating of stories, teachings, commandments, and exhortations from the previous four books. In addition, over fifteen times in Deuteronomy, we are told to remember. This repetition is by design, and has a profound purpose and meaning. The God of Israel is advancing his covenantal love and connection with God's p...

Leviticus shaped the community of ancient Israel as they sought to draw near to God and longed for God to draw near to them.

For 2000 years, a miraculous, unanticipated story of resurrection after death has been passed down, from generation to generation. This story of Jesus' victory over death changes us into resurrection people, a people who can look at the darkest moments and believe in hope and life.

Each time we come to a festival, there are themes, terms, symbols, and feelings that are deeply familiar. The revolution of Jesus is that while some elements resonate, the past interpretations and understandings are dissonant with what Jesus was advancing. Our challenge is to ensure we're in the same "key" as Jesus, to listen carefully to how our lives resonate, not with our own understandings, bu...

Fleeing the tyrannical dictatorship of Egypt, the Israelites voluntarily enter into a covenant with God to create a new nation, different from everything the world had ever known. In Egypt, like in many nations, power was concentrated into the hands of the few while the many were enslaved. But God calls us to embody a wholly different world, shaped by philosophical, political, theological and lega...

We continue our journey through the book of Exodus as the Israelites have passed through the Reed Sea and traveled through the wilderness to reach Sinai. God calls Moses up on to the mountain, the people of Israel gather at the base, and God speaks. The giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai defines the people of Israel from this point forward and these instructions are still with us today. How did the...

Pharaoh finally relents and allows the Israelites to leave Egypt ... but regrets his choice immediately. Caught between the pursuing Egyptian army and a sea before them, the Israelites experience God as King and ruler over all.

Exodus presents us with the first head-to-head showdown between an oppressive empire and God’s people. Stopping Pharaoh and the evil forces behind him is hard, hardening, and costly. “There was blood everywhere.” This brutal confrontation culminates in Israel’s birth, which also gives birth to “redemption,” “salvation,” and “Passover” – themes that find their fulfillment in Jesus.

As we continue our exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures in Exodus, we will be challenged to set aside the cultural programming of the images, movies, and assumptions about Moses, Pharaoh, the parting waters, and the 10 commandments. An often overlooked major theme found in the minor characters and elements of the story reveal a revolutionary strategy of how the way of establishing justice is often...