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

In the strange alchemy of the Kingdom of God, the first shall be last, the way to be rich is to be poor, and the height of maturity is the faith of a child. In this episode we look at Jesus's responses to parents seeking his blessing upon their children (over the disciples' objections!) and to a powerful man's question about how to enter the kingdom of God (he is told to sell everything!). It turns out they have much in common, and both have to do with coming to God in weakness and need. Text for this sermon is: Luke 18:15-34 (NRSV). The book I mention in the intro is Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Crom. It's a good-for-your-soul kinda read.    Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

According to Jesus, prayer is an essential element of the life of faith, love and relationship with God. And yet for most of us - the original disciples included - prayer is both a struggle and a mystery. Often we pray and "nothing happens." So does prayer affect anything? Is there some special formula to prayer we are missing, some technique we must be taught? In this episode we examine two of Jesus's parables on prayer, and learn something about the importance of annoying God into submission. The text for this episode is Luke 18:1-14 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The great theologian Johnny Cash once wrote: "You're so heavenly minded you're no earthly good."  Only Jesus said it better. In this episode we look at the temptation to be so focused on the hereafter that we miss the presence of the kingdom of God in the here and now (and our call to embody it!). It's no minor risk - a point Jesus drives home with references to such disasters as the great flood in the days of Noah, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah! (Surely there's a gospel song in there somewhere...) The text for this episode is Luke 17:20-37 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What does it look like - in practice - to love self? And is such love truly godly? (Isn't love of self was the very definition of selfishness, and that love of God and others are the true virtues?) In this episode we look at Jesus's encounter with 10 lepers who take the risk to ask for mercy (always a safe bet with Jesus), and discover that love of self leads to God and ultimately to others. It's a profound look at healing and how we are transformed by compassion. The text for this episode is Luke 17:11-19 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Maturity in the life of faith requires the ability bear unresolved tension, to live amidst truths that seems to contradict each other. In this episode we examine three (more) declarations of Jesus that - at first read - appear terribly uncharitable. But as we study more closely, we discover a depth of love and grace we would never have seen had we not been forced into paradox. The text for this episode is Luke 17:1-10 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How ought we interpret Jesus's call to decisive loyalty (and the warnings that accompany them)? Is eternal, conscious torment truly the punishment that awaits the disloyal? In this episode we examine one of Jesus's most disturbing parables, indeed one of the texts from which the church historically derived the picture of hell. And while such anguish may not be what Jesus intends to express, he is very much calling people to a decision: We must choose towards which age we direct our lives, and the choice matters. The text for this episode is Luke 16:14-31 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast by giving to Canvas? Here's a quick link to give online. Donations in any amount are a huge help to us and tax-deductible (in the USA) to you! Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Bible is filled with warnings about the dangers of wealth - a danger stemming from wealth's capacity to make promises. From political power to personal security to utter self-sufficiency, wealth claims it can set us free from anxiety and fill our hearts with meaning. And it's a lie. In this episode we look at Jesus's parable of the "Dishonest Manager." What we discover is that just as our loves will shape our habits, so our habits shape our loves. We would be wise to choose our habits carefully.  The text for this episode is Luke 16:1-13 (NRSV). And - as mentioned in the intro - if you'd like to support the podcast and the ministry of Canvas, here's the quick link to give online. It's a huge help to us and tax-deductible!   Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We have all had times of wandering very far from God; sometimes as an act of rebellion, other times as capitulation to sin. Sometimes circumstances overwhelm us and we find ourselves lost on the path of life. Whatever the cause, we have all found ourselves in a "foreign land," wondering what hope remains. In this episode we look at 3 parables of lostness and the relentless passion of God to find. And when found, boundless welcome that follows. If you've ever wondered if one can stray too far from God - so as to be lost forever - the short answer of Jesus seems to be: no. :-) The text for this episode is Luke 15:1-32 (NRSV). And - as mentioned in the intro - if you'd like to support the podcast and the ministry of Canvas, here's the quick link to give online. It's a huge help to us and tax-deductible!   Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"Love is the name of the game" rolls regularly off my tongue; but what does it look like in practice? In this episode we examine some of Jesus's seemingly extreme demands of his disciples and discover they are not a loyalty test, but rather a call to love with vitality and devotion. Such love requires risk, but it can (and will!) change the world. Included are a few examples of what we can do today to put love to work in our lives and the lives of others. The text for this episode is Luke 14:25-35 (NRSV). Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Once again, Jesus disrupts dinner party decorum. In this case, it is to heal a man suffering terrible pain. A worthy cause, his Pharisee hosts, would agree. But this particular dinner was happening on the Sabbath, and, well...healings were "work" and should wait. Or should they? In this episode we get another look at Jesus's attempts to reveal the depth of the love of God (and the response of our love for neighbor it should provoke) and how deeply ambivalent we humans can be. The text for this episode is Luke 14:1-24 (NRSV). Not already subscribed to the podcast? Here’s the quick link to iTunes! Want to connect? I’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.