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

Few words in the Christian vocabulary evoke more discomfort than "evangelism" - sharing the story of Jesus in hope that another will join the community of faith. In the 21st century, such efforts can feel relationally disrespectful and intellectually...crazy. Oughtn't we let everyone have their beliefs, not seek to influence them? And do we really expect people to believe in God? The Trinity? The resurrection? Yet one cannot be a follower of Jesus and not hear the call to "make disciples." What to do...??? In this episode our beloved Rev. Ian Farrell shares his wisdom on the work of sharing our faith - thoughtfully, kindly, respectfully, and...authentically. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  John 17 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Pop culture overflows with visions of "heaven" - from floating cities with streets of gold to childlike cherubim to the white robed "saved" joyfully playing the harp unto eternity... But these images have little to do with the actual biblical portrait of life in the age to come. In this episode we examine what scripture intends to communicate about New Creation, a world set right. And, even more importantly, how this vision of salvation calls us to life today. The images referenced here: 01 The Billboard 02 Heaven/Hell Diagram 03 (Florence) Baptistry Hell 04 Heaven? 05 Heaven 2? (Raphael) The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Revelation 21:1-22:7 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Of all the subjects we choose to avoid, death is probably first on the list! We fear it for ourselves, and perhaps even more, we fear the pain of the loss of those we love. But at the heart of the Christian life is a discussion about death and our hope in the face of it. In this episode we examine that hope and the courage it gives us to live generously. Specifically we'll look at the tragedy of death, our confidence in the resurrection, and what happens in the time in between... The biblical passages referenced in this sermon are:  Genesis 3:22-24 (NRSV) Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 (NRSV) Romans 6:3-5 (NRSV) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Name a hot topic - from abortion to refugee resettlement to gender identity - and someone in the church will declare "what the Bible says" about the matter. (And where there are 2 Christians there are usually 3 passionate, dissonant conclusions!) So how do we determine what scripture is trying to say? Or, to put it another way, how do we build a theology? How do we move from individual passages to a clear sense of God's intent? Here we'll take slavery as a case study and see what scripture is trying to say. The biblical passages referenced in this sermon are:  Exodus 6:5-6, 20:8-11(NRSV) Colossians 3:9-11, 22-4:1 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We begin this series on deep questions with a discussion of the Bible as a source of fundamental truth? Is there any reason to believe it is more authoritative on matters of God than other religious books? Or any books at all? In this episode we look beyond the Bible's self-description as "God's word" and examine the experience of those who wrote it, and our own deep experience of life to see if there is an elemental resonance between the story scripture intends to tell and what we know of life in this age. The biblical passages referenced in this sermon are:  2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NRSV) Luke 22:54-62 (NRSV) John 21:15-19 (NRSV) Acts 4:1-20 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Once again, Isaiah speaks of the birth of a child in connection with Israel's deliverance. But unlike the the prophesy of chapter 7 (see Ep. 278), the child described is nearly impossible identify in Isaiah's original context. Indeed, the whole of the poem moves fluidly between past, present and future, as though all three ages are existing beside each other, and all are being saved by means of a coming king. It is a very unique poem, even for ancient prophesy, and one pointing very much to a messiah. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 9:1-7 (NRSV) As you know, our shout-out city for this episode is the nation of Australia - currently suffering devastating wildfires. If you would like to contribute to recovery efforts, here is a link to the Australian Red Cross donation page.   Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel." Most of us know these words by their appearance in Matthew's telling of the Christmas story, where we tend to focus mainly on the "virgin" part- as though Matthew's point is to demonstrate that Jesus's birth is miraculous. But Matthew's intent goes much deeper, and to understand it we must first hear what Isaiah was saying in his time and place. And when we do, we get an even deeper glimpse of just how much God is with us. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 7:10-17 (NRSV) To see the map to which Kirk refers, click here. What to listen to Kirk's Advent/Christmas playlist? Check out Christmas at 2AM on Spotify! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Isaiah presents us with another poetic glimpse into God's salvation, this time describing the people of God on pilgrimage home from exile. As they travel through the desert, the redeemed of God find both themselves and the very desert around them being transformed with and by new life. It's a vision of sovereign grace, and one clearly foreshadowing the ministry of Jesus. And thus this text gives us a moment to discuss the sensus plenior (fuller meaning) of a text - a tool of great importance in biblical study, esp. in interpreting the prophets. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 35:1-10 (NRSV) To see the map of the divided kingdom to which Kirk refers, click here. What to listen to Kirk's Advent/Christmas playlist? Check out Christmas at 2AM on Spotify! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How far can we dream of a world set right? What can we imagine of creation on the other side of salvation? In this episode we continue our look at the vision of salvation that God provides through the prophet Isaiah. And what we see is a coming king of such justice can compassion that his reign leads to a complete transformation of creation. Enmities that we'd never dream could be healed will be reconciled. And hostilities we think are simply facts of life will be turned to life-giving friendships. In short, we get a glimpse of what life looks like when love wins. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Isaiah 11:1-10 (NRSV) What to listen to Kirk's Advent/Christmas playlist? Check out Christmas at 2AM on Spotify! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

That God intends to save the world from the curse of sin has been clear from the very beginning of the biblical story. But it is through the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah that God begins to reveal the specifics of how this salvation will unfold. What emerges is a vision of a coming messiah (anointed one) who will bring a radical transformation to history. And in this first of four sermons on Isaiah, we look at the peace God will establish - a peace so complete that humanity will choose to forever turn their swords and spears into the instruments of harvest and abundance! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Luke 24:13-27 (NRSV) Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV) What to listen to Kirk's Advent/Christmas playlist? Check out Christmas at 2AM on Spotify! Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.