Commons Church Podcast

Cain and Abel is a compelling story and there are a lot of ways to read it. Here's an option that sees the characters as archetypes of human social development. Let me know what you think.

"Genesis is a book about origins: the origins of humankind, the origins of Israel, and the origins of the unique relationship between God and a particular people." —Nahum Sarna. We will listen to the memory of ancient Israel wrapped in poetic narratives. We will spend time with the strangeness of these stories, attending to the faith embedded in them. We will let the text draw us into a cosmic account of creation, the epic beginning rooted in the stories of the ancient Near East and artfully reshaped to tell the good news: Creator calls the world into being and out of love binds Godself to it. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann believes that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are among the most important in the bible, but they are also among the most misunderstood. So, come back with us to the origins with your big questions. Bring your daily experience of the glory and darkness of human nature. Let's wander together into the stories of falling and faithfulness. And let's listen well. ★ Support this podcast ★

"Genesis is a book about origins: the origins of humankind, the origins of Israel, and the origins of the unique relationship between God and a particular people." —Nahum Sarna. We will listen to the memory of ancient Israel wrapped in poetic narratives. We will spend time with the strangeness of these stories, attending to the faith embedded in them. We will let the text draw us into a cosmic account of creation, the epic beginning rooted in the stories of the ancient Near East and artfully reshaped to tell the good news: Creator calls the world into being and out of love binds Godself to it. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann believes that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are among the most important in the bible, but they are also among the most misunderstood. So, come back with us to the origins with your big questions. Bring your daily experience of the glory and darkness of human nature. Let's wander together into the stories of falling and faithfulness. And let's listen well. ★ Support this podcast ★

"Genesis is a book about origins: the origins of humankind, the origins of Israel, and the origins of the unique relationship between God and a particular people." —Nahum Sarna. We will listen to the memory of ancient Israel wrapped in poetic narratives. We will spend time with the strangeness of these stories, attending to the faith embedded in them. We will let the text draw us into a cosmic account of creation, the epic beginning rooted in the stories of the ancient Near East and artfully reshaped to tell the good news: Creator calls the world into being and out of love binds Godself to it. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann believes that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are among the most important in the bible, but they are also among the most misunderstood. So, come back with us to the origins with your big questions. Bring your daily experience of the glory and darkness of human nature. Let's wander together into the stories of falling and faithfulness. And let's listen well. ★ Support this podcast ★

Philippians 2***We all have a guilty musical pleasure. Admit it.A band we return to as the soundtrack to some other season.An album we replay because it.still. holds.up.The song we blast in the car when it comes on — lyrics flowing freely, dance moves optional.Because music stirs us, evokes emotion, forms memory, and helps us return to ourselves.Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that, at times, early Christian authors seem to have drawn on the songs and poetry around them as they wrote. Pulling meaningful words, rhythm,and melody together to inspire their reflection and theology.And this is a fascinating idea — that musicality shaped Scripture, but also that it plays a role in what makes these words compelling today.Join us as we explore this ancient playlist together! ★ Support this podcast ★

Heb 1***We all have a guilty musical pleasure. Admit it.A band we return to as the soundtrack to some other season.An album we replay because it.still. holds.up.The song we blast in the car when it comes on — lyrics flowing freely, dance moves optional.Because music stirs us, evokes emotion, forms memory, and helps us return to ourselves.Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that, at times, early Christian authors seem to have drawn on the songs and poetry around them as they wrote. Pulling meaningful words, rhythm,and melody together to inspire their reflection and theology.And this is a fascinating idea — that musicality shaped Scripture, but also that it plays a role in what makes these words compelling today.Join us as we explore this ancient playlist together! ★ Support this podcast ★

Ephesians 2:14-18***We all have a guilty musical pleasure. Admit it.A band we return to as the soundtrack to some other season.An album we replay because it.still. holds.up.The song we blast in the car when it comes on — lyrics flowing freely, dance moves optional.Because music stirs us, evokes emotion, forms memory, and helps us return to ourselves.Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that, at times, early Christian authors seem to have drawn on the songs and poetry around them as they wrote. Pulling meaningful words, rhythm,and melody together to inspire their reflection and theology.And this is a fascinating idea — that musicality shaped Scripture, but also that it plays a role in what makes these words compelling today.Join us as we explore this ancient playlist together! ★ Support this podcast ★

We all have a guilty musical pleasure. Admit it.A band we return to as the soundtrack to some other season.An album we replay because it.still. holds.up.The song we blast in the car when it comes on — lyrics flowing freely, dance moves optional.Because music stirs us, evokes emotion, forms memory, and helps us return to ourselves.Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that, at times, early Christian authors seem to have drawn on the songs and poetry around them as they wrote. Pulling meaningful words, rhythm,and melody together to inspire their reflection and theology.And this is a fascinating idea — that musicality shaped Scripture, but also that it plays a role in what makes these words compelling today.Join us as we explore this ancient playlist together! ★ Support this podcast ★

John 1:1-14***We all have a guilty musical pleasure. Admit it.A band we return to as the soundtrack to some other season.An album we replay because it.still. holds.up.The song we blast in the car when it comes on — lyrics flowing freely, dance moves optional.Because music stirs us, evokes emotion, forms memory, and helps us return to ourselves.Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that, at times, early Christian authors seem to have drawn on the songs and poetry around them as they wrote. Pulling meaningful words, rhythm,and melody together to inspire their reflection and theology.And this is a fascinating idea — that musicality shaped Scripture, but also that it plays a role in what makes these words compelling today.Join us as we explore this ancient playlist together! ★ Support this podcast ★

We have just through Easter and we are now in the season of Eastertide, the 50 day celebration of resurrection. And that’s lovely but I think for a lot of us that are steeped in the evangelical industrial complex our relationship with Easter can feel a little complicated.Sure,  we love resurrection and we are glad Jesus died “for us” but sometimes there is this niggling feeling like it doesn’t quite add up.God is the source of this beautiful story of triumph and life and all the different ways that this story takes root in us but why did it happen in the first place?If resurrection was always the goal does that mean a death always had to happen and if that always had to happen, who gets credit, or perhaps better said, the blame for that death? ★ Support this podcast ★