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

If the church has a favorite heresy, it is likely that of gnosticism - the belief that the main problem with the spiritual life is that we have bodies. They seem to be forever getting in the way of pure spiritual pursuits, dragging us back into the baser elements of our nature. If only we could rid ourselves of the flesh! It was an idea first offered by Plato and has been incorporated into the church nearly from the beginning. In this episode we look in depth at gnosticism and why it is so dangerous. The text for this sermon is Colossians 2:6-12 (NRSV). Want to support the podcast? For 3 key ways you can help, CLICK HERE! Want to connect? I'd love to hear from you. You can send e-mail here. or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

One of the best ways to learn good theology is to study historically bad theology - to see where we tend to go astray (after all, there are really only about 10 true heresies, we just manage to repeat them in every generation). In this episode, I give a short introduction to the idea of "heresy" and then examine the first official heresy of the church: Arianism. It was the debate over Arianism (325 AD) that led to the Nicene Creed and the first formal doctrine of the Trinity. The text for this sermon is Luke 24:44-53. 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 Gospel of Luke ends with a series of new beginnings. First, Jesus's reveals his resurrection to his disciples in a manner that would have constituted certain proof in the ancient world. It is also a sign that the age of salvation has begun, and with it, a new mission for Jesus's disciples. Where once they were followers, now they are witnesses sent to every corner of the earth - a mission, it turns out, was always part of the plan of salvation! And it is a mission to which we, too, are called. The text for this sermon is Luke 24:36-53 (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.

On a spring Friday, somewhere around the year AD 29, two kingdoms (Love and Evil) went to war - a battle brewing since the Garden of Eden. And Evil appeared to have won...briefly. And then it lost everything! In this episode we arrive at proof of Love's victory - an empty tomb and a resurrected Jesus! It is also the moment of Luke's grand reveal (his whole narrative has been building to this). It is a sermon about the first Easter, preached on Easter Sunday 2017. The full text for this sermon is Luke 24:1-35 (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.

By every visible measure, Good Friday marked the moment love lost. In Jesus, God himself had entered into creation to free his people from their bondage to sin...and in their sin they (we!) crucified him. In this episode we examine the events leading up to and including Jesus's death - events that surely prove Jesus failed. ...And yet, amidst Jesus's suffering and persecution, we see love at work. Indeed it might just turn out that this is what creation needed all along. The full text for this sermon is Luke 22:63-23:49 (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.

Never doubt the power of sin in the world. It led one of Jesus's closest friends to betray him. Led another to deny they'd ever met. It led Jewish authorities to demand an execution of one of their own, and caused the crowds to shout, "Crucify him!" of the one they'd cheered with "Hosanna!" less than a week before. In this episode we walk with Jesus through his final night, beholding sin in all its power. And - in Jesus - we see love that will not surrender. The text for this sermon is Luke 22:24-62 (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.

It is the night of Jesus's defeat (or so it would seem). He will soon be betrayed into the hands of his enemies and crucified. But there is one event left in his ministry - the celebration of the Passover (the symbol of Israel's release from her captivity and the night of her salvation). In this episode we take a deep look at the Jewish Passover traditions and what they reveal about the last Supper and the events of Jesus's last night with his disciples. Text for this sermon is Luke 22:1-13 (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.

Jesus's public ministry concludes with warnings of divine judgment upon Jerusalem. He foretells the destruction of the Temple and gives instructions to his followers as to how to survive the impending disaster. And it is with these teachings that Jesus effectively seals his fate. His prophetic declarations have raised the ire of the religious leadership - challenging their authority - and, like many prophets before him, he will be put to death. It is a story about the end of the age...2,000 yrs ago. Text for this sermon is Luke 20:21-21:28 (NRSV). Here is a link to an artist's recreation of the (Herodian) Temple. 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.

Teaching in the Temple, Jesus continues to press the question of loyalties - a direct provocation of the Jewish sect of the Sadducees (leaders of the Temple). Text for this sermon is Luke 20:20-40 (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.

Having arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus very publicly travels to the Temple and begins to teach. It is a direct confrontation of and threat to the Sadducees (the Jewish sect governing the Temple). It is effectively Jesus's last stand. Here on the mount where heaven and earth meet, Jesus will either persuade Israel to return to her first love, or he will seal his fate as a martyr. In this episode we look at Jesus's teaching in the Temple and why it is that God's people will persecute their own messiah. Text for this sermon is Luke 19:47-20:19 (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.