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

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.

At last Jesus makes his entrance into Jerusalem - a scene loaded with symbolism of conquest and deliverance for Israel. Yet as we examine the story in detail, the foreshadowing of death and destruction come into view. This is a heartrending passage - one filled with hopes that will be dashed. Kleenex is highly recommended. Text for this sermon is Luke 19:29-46 (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.

As Jesus prepares for his final journey into Jerusalem, he tells the gathered crowd a terrifying story about a nobleman and his 3 slaves. And we'll just say that things do not end well for at least one of the slaves! (Really, really not well.) Our challenge is to interpret the parable: Who is the nobleman? Who are the slaves? And what lesson are we to learn??? In this episode we explore three options and discover there are no easy answers. But part of the work of maturity is learning to live with ambiguity. Text for this sermon is Luke 19:11-28 (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 just called his followers to an unbounded trust in God and love of other, Jesus now puts those very actions on display - healing a man who is blind, and forgiving the notorious sinner, Zacchaeus. In this episode, regular contributor, Ian Farrell, explains - with incredible humor and historical insight! - the nuances of this moving set of stories. It is an sermon not to be missed! Text for this sermon is: Luke 18:35-19:10 (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.

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.