The Restoration Project Podcast

the restoration project. Joshua James. 27 September 2020

the restoration project. Joshua James. 20 September 2020

the restoration project. Joshua James. 13 September 2020

the restoration project. Joshua James. 06 September 2020

the restoration project. Joshua James. 30 August 2020

the restoration project. Joshua James. 23 August 2020

Anytime we introduce a new book, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of nerdy stuff we could talk about! The genre, the date, the provenance, the background, setting, audience ... and of course, the author. In this talk, Josh focuses on the first verse of the book to make two broad, introductory points. First, the book of James is pretty terrible for a "letter." (It's a great book ... but a terrible let...

We have a guest preacher this week. Jared Byas from the Bible for Normal People! And because he knows we love the OT so much, we're hanging out in Genesis today. (Ok, ok, it's the assigned lectionary passage. But still. He could have picked something from the Gospels!) You've heard this story before, but it's a good one. And it has a lot of implications for us. the restoration project. Jared Byas....

We've reached the end, at at the end, what we get is an oddly placed psalm. Scholars argue over what to think about the *when of the psalm (and maybe also the *why of the psalm), but some see it is a fitting conclusion. Here's the synopsis: regardless of what is going on, I will rejoice. I will wait on the Lord. But if we think this means we being inactive ... we are missing it. the restoration pr...

Habakkuk 2:6ff is a section of text that scholars refer to as the “woe oracles.” It’s unclear who is the referent (who is getting woe'd), but most assume it's the controlling empire of the day, Babylon. This raises a few questions for us... What about today? Are we being "woe'd"? Are we ... the empire? the restoration project. Joshua James. 12 July 2020

"The just will live by faith" or something like that. the restoration project. Joshua James. 5 July 2020

Sermons sometimes have weird beginnings. This one was inspired (sort of) by a text message about Jewish interpretive practices ... and then fanned into flame by stumbling upon a modern Jewish reading of Habakkuk. Like the prophet, we wait for those we love. All of them. the restoration project. Joshua James. 21 June 2020

Ok, alright. Ok. Calm down. This isn't exactly a "light" summer sermon series, but here we are. The majority of Habakkuk is a conversation between the prophet and God, in which the prophet sort of goes nuts. "Violence!" he screams. God responds (which is weird, and when we hear what God says, a bit unsettling). In this talk, we are thinking about things from 30,000 feet: what about us? are we pray...

This is Eric. he is guest speaking this week. He's a psychotherapist and ordained Baptist minister from Knoxville, Tennessee. We asked him to speak because he's funny. And smart. And he can coherently dissect what's typically going on in our brains as we post on Facebook. the restoration project. Eric Minton. 28 June 2020

It's been a few weeks since the (global) unrest and cries for racial justice began due to the death of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Things are happening, but things haven't really gotten *better yet. (Not that we would expect large scale changes to be instituted in such a short time.) People are, however, speaking up and moving to action. Keep going. the restoration project. Jo...

Here we are again. Two weeks after a sermon on Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, we mourn the loss of George Floyd. And again, I'm sort of appalled by the majority reaction (or noun-reaction) from the Church. So we look at a parable, which hopefully will encourage us to do *something. the restoration project. Joshua James. 31 May 2020

This week, in response to the tragic death of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, we’re talking about racial justice, and the tendency of white majority churches to avoid the issue altogether. It’s a beginning… the restoration project. Joshua James. 17 May 2020

Maybe you’ve heard this one before. It’s definitely a meaningful passage for Josh (read: he talks about it a LOT). But here we are … needing some comfort again. And this passage is a good reminder. the restoration project. Joshua James. 3 May 2020

How long do we lament? In this sermon, we do not try to move beyond our feelings. For many of us, we are still in the throes of lament. (And that is ok. Honor that.) But we do provide some encouragement in this teaching to the community to share their stories. the restoration project. Joshua James. 26 April 2020

Ok, so I lied. We aren’t going back to John, at least not for our Sunday sermons. We’re going to keep hanging out in Psalms, as we attempt to find language for what’s going on. First up, Psalm 13. Hopefully, we can find ourselves in “the pause.” the restoration project. Joshua James. 19 April 2020

Well, TRP, with things being as they are, we don’t get to have our standard Easter celebration this year. We don’t even get to leave our homes! That means no dancing, no singing, no eating and drinking, and my favorite … no toast (sort of). But hopefully, we can be reminded of why we celebrate in the first place—Jesus took on the very worst that humanity had to offer and he carried it. Three days...

Ok. Ok. We tried. We tried to just keep our head down and keep talking about John (continuing in our sermon series, “The Spiritual Gospel”). But many of us, I think, are *feeling* a bit displaced, a bit disappointed, a bit scared. So here are some thoughts on the Psalms. the restoration project. Joshua James. 5 April 2020

We are nearing the end of our study of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse. (Only one more teaching to go!) This week, we tackle all sorts of stuff, from the disciples’ failure to understand, to John’s focus on right NOW, to Jesus’ beautiful (and applicable) words of comfort and victory. Along with the disciples, may we also remember to take heart, even in the midst of our uncertain moment ... for a Jesus h...

This week, we are continuing our (super long) series on the Gospel of John, but because of the recommendation from the CDC to limit the size of public gatherings to less than 10 (due to the spread of the coronavirus), we are producing this video from our home studio. In this teaching, Josh explores Jesus’ warning to his disciples of upcoming opposition and persecution. But … after considering the...

the restoration project. 21 October 2019.