Two Texts

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David turn their attention to Cornelius. This unknown centurion bursts onto the scene in Acts 10 and makes significant waves on the early church's move towards the inclusion the Spirit wants. In this episode we explore how carefully Luke introduces Corn...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David explore two healing moments in Acts 9. Luke chooses to interlude the massive stories of Paul's call and Cornelius with a couple of brief stories about healing miracles and Peter. Miracle stories that turn out to feel a little... familiar. Read Dav...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David notice that there's more going on in Acts 9 than just things about Paul. Sandwiched in between the story of Paul's call and what comes next we have a curious little account of some things about Peter. As you might expect, there's more th...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David ponder the role that Barnabas again plays in the story of the early church. Stepping into a situation and seemingly knowing the right thing to do we recognize Barnabas as the pastor many of us need to emulate. Read John’s book that, amongst other thing...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David consider how Paul's conversion in Luke connects to other things we know about Paul in the New Testament. Sometimes the way we read stories makes it appear that the differing accounts lack resonance. We wonder if sometimes that's more because...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David consider part of Acts 9 from a slightly different angle. Does Luke tell the story of Paul's conversion in such a way as to essentially make the story a resurrection story? We think this is a fun but also insightful way to understand Paul's co...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss what Jesus says to Paul. Unsurprisingly we think there's some layers to this part of the narrative of Paul's conversion that are worth exploring. Episode 94 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disruptive Presence 37 If you want to get in touch...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David continue to explore when Paul meets Jesus. In this episode we consider the irony around some aspects of the story - the hunter is the hunted, the pious one learns he doesn't quite know what's going on, the zealot is invited to think different...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David explore the moment when Paul meets Jesus. As you might expect we are going to take a few episodes on this one, but here we set out our introduction to what's going on with Paul as he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus. The Tom Wright book we...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and especially David get very excited about the interweaving of texts in the story of the Ethiopian. David apologizes to John and all our listeners for having a very public meltdown relating to the biblical texts framing this story! But we also want you to know...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David explore the amazing story of the first African missionary to appear in Acts. A nameless Ethiopian Eunuch is possibly one of the most significant moments in Acts so far. An outsider in one system becomes welcomed to Jesus in the new way of the Gospel. E...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss Simon and his desire to "buy" the Holy Spirit. The strange story of a magic man's encounter with the gospel and the Holy Spirit has much to say to us about the church today. We mentioned Mark Baker's book in this episode. Yo...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David explore the arrival of the gospel in Samaria. Chapter 8 of Acts shows the church breaking through boundaries that might have even surprised them. As Jesus hinted in John 4, some interesting and challenging things will happen when the church allows the...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss the tensions that quickly arise for the church in Acts 8. the death of Stephen serves as a catalyst for a violent persectution that breaks out against the church. Although the terrible situation doesn't entirely do what it's intended...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss the fallout from Stephen's sermon. Quite a lot happens in the immediate aftermath of Stephen's talk. It escalates quickly and terribly. We are also introduced to an important and surprising new character in the story. Episode 86 of th...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David talk about the Magi. Was there three? What did they do? And what is Matthew telling us about them. This is the last of our Christmas bonus episodes, we will be back on January 10, 2023 as we return to our series on Acts, Disruptive Presence. Episode 85...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) Christmas gets closer and John and David explore what the gospels tell us about Joseph. There's lots to dig into around the story of this half of Jesus' "parents", and we hope it helps you get into the Christmas mood by spending some time in Matthew's...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David stay excited for Christmas by continuing to talk about Mary. We're re-releasing a few bonus episodes as we approach Christmas focussing on Mary and Joseph (with support from the other Nativity Characters). This week we're talking about Mary!...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David get excited for Christmas by talking about Mary. We're re-releasing a few bonus episodes as we approach Christmas focussing on Mary and Joseph (with support from the other Nativity Characters).  Episode 82 of the Two Texts Podcast | Christmas Bonu...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David realize that they are not done with Stephen's sermon just yet. Listen in for some more detail on the points that Stephen explores and focuses on in this incredible piece of Acts. Episode 81 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disruptive Presence 28 If you...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David dive into Stephen's sermon. Future episodes will look at the detail of the sermon, but in this episode they try to give an overview of the whole sermon and how it navigates a move from place to people. Episode 80 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disrupt...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David follow Stephen as he encounters challenges in his ministry. Hired to wait tables, Stephen's preaching ministry brings him face to face with opposition from some within his community. This episode explores the passage that sets up one of the longes...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David explore how the apostles navigate a difficult tension inside the new church. Racial tensions abound for the young community as they attempt to live out the justice of Jesus. Their solutions are innovative, creative and worth paying attention to. Episod...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss how a Pharisee saves the apostles and makes some good points for all our lives. As the Apostles encounter some objections to the work they are part of, not everyone knows what to do with them. The Pharisee Gamaliel, however, offers a way forwar...

Drop us a text message to say hi and let us know what you think of the show. (Include your email if you’d like us to reply) In which John and David discuss how the Apostles respond to tensions around their activities in Jerusalem. Not everyone was excited about the work the Holy Spirit was doing in the Early Church. How will Peter and the others respond? Episode 76 of the Two Texts Podcast | Disru...