Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

Letting go of Egypt - saying goodbye to the past, to the familiar, to habit (however deadly it may have been) - is one of the most difficult tasks of the life of faith. And it is one of the primary purposes of the wilderness. In this episode we find Israel 3-days into her exodus journey, already longing for the (comforts?) of Egypt and questioning - again - the goodness of God. It is a deeply honest look at the human condition, as Israel discovers once more that her God is with her (and with us!). The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Exodus 16:1-30 (NRSV) To find out more about Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and how you can help those recovering from natural disaster, CLICK HERE. Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Israel has been saved by the mighty hand of God!...only to find herself in the "wilderness." (Always in scripture, a place representing isolation, emptiness, and fear.) It's not quite the picture of deliverance she had in mind. And yet, as Israel will discover, the wilderness is where the best spiritual formation happens. It is there that we are forced to confront our complete dependence upon God and God alone. And it is in the wilderness that God meets us with compassion and with a new call to his service. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Exodus 15:22-27 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

One of the great lessons Israel has to teach us is how to respond to salvation, what to do when we have been rescued. Israel's response? A psalm of praise. But this is not just a song about the powers and virtues of God, giving The Almighty his due. Rather, the poem is a means of both expressing thanks and memorializing events. It allows Israel to deepen her relationship with God in the present and to rehearse the events of salvation in the future (as many moments of desperation are yet to come). The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Exodus 14:26-15:21 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

At last God makes good on his promise to save. Israel is set free from Egypt and flees into the desert...only to discover that she is quickly trapped between the Red Sea and the fast-approaching army of Pharaoh. And it is a situation everyone who sincerely follows God will face - the moment when, unless God personally intervenes on our behalf, we are most certainly doomed. In this episode we join Israel on the shores of the Red Sea wondering if our faith has been a horrible miscalculation! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Exodus 14:5-25 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Few stories in scripture are more historically or morally questionable than the story of the Passover. Did YHWH truly put to death all the firstborn of Egypt??? And if so, how can we possibly consider God good, much less loving??? In this episode we examine the Passover, its place in Israel's salvation, and the instruction is provides for living as God's people. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is: Exodus 11:1-12:13, 21-36 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Before we can surrender to God's care and leading, we must first be (mostly) convinced that God is devoted to us and capable of securing our welfare. And in the ancient world, way a deity demonstrated both power and devotion was by means of partisan action - working demonstrably on behalf of their followers. In this episode, we examine YHWH's plagues upon the Egyptians and what they are intended to reveal about the strength and faithfulness of Israel's God. The biblical passages quoted in this sermon are: Acts 1:6-8 (NRSV) Exodus 6:1-9; 7:14-25; 8:16-19 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In the end, there is only one way to know for sure if God is active in the world and in your life: risk. Not random danger, but obedience to a call. It turns out that God's revelation is often paired with a command to "go...," and to risk, and thereby to discover that God is present. In this episode we look at God's appearance to Moses in the burning bush and the accompanying call to speak to both Israel and to Pharaoh - both sojourns into danger. But it is here that Moses learns "I am with you!" The biblical passage for this sermon is: Exodus 2:23-3:22 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Learning to see God in our own lives is much like learning to see God in the story of Moses's birth. At first glance, God appears quite absent - nowhere to be found as his people face great trial. And yet, upon closer inspection, God's fingerprints begin to emerge everywhere. Where first we saw only indifference, slowly, deeply attentive care comes into focus. And we see that God has been active in our rescue all along. In this episode we learn to see behind the scenes - where God is always at work. The biblical passage for this sermon is: Exodus 2:1-15 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The journey of faith and surrender to God's leading begins not in strength, but in weakness, in captivity - slaves to forces too great for us to overcome. It is there that God meets us and declares again the promise of salvation. In this episode we begin where the exodus began - with God's people enslaved to Pharaoh, crying out for deliverance. And we recognize this physical captivity as a symptom of our larger captivity to sin itself. And we also discover captivity will not have the last word! The biblical passage for this sermon is: Exodus 1:1-22(NRSV). Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The ultimate work of the life of faith is to surrender ourselves to God, to entrust all that we are and all that we possess to his care and leading. The question is: HOW??? How do we overcome the countless resistances we have to placing ourselves in God's hands? The short, answer is: reluctantly. But there is hope! God has a long history of bringing broken humans into relationship with him. So in this series we begin at the beginning of that work, the exodus. In this episode, we meet the God who saves. The biblical passages referenced in this sermon are: 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NRSV) Genesis 17:1-8 (NRSV) Want to support the podcast? CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.