Advent 4 (2020) - The Name of the Game
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Release Date: 12/24/2020
Jesus and the Revolution, Part 03 - The Enemy and the Allure of Now
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
The divine rescue - of which the ministry of Jesus is the decisive act - is not merely to be understood as the securing of a heavenly afterlife for the faithful, but the restoration of a fallen creation. To be "saved" is to be set free, to be healed and to be counted a citizen of the "kingdom of God." But such freedom recognizes there we are presently captives, subjects of a hostile regime. There is an enemy that must be defeated. But identifying that enemy - the actual enemy - can be quite difficult. In this episode we turn to the story of Jesus's "temptation" in the...
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Jesus and the Revolution, Part 02 - A Prophet as of Old
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
God's Revolution to Restore All Creation begins with a cry to all Israel to prepare for war. But not the war Israel expected... For decades tensions with Rome had been growing. Various political and religious sects (think Pharisees, Sadducees, et al.) were staking out their positions in the coming conflict. Swords and spears were beginning to be sharpened. And at that time, on the banks of the Jordan (the boundry of the promised land), John the Baptist beckoned God's people to "repent!, because the Kingdom of God (the restoration of God's direct reign in creation) has come near." The battle,...
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Jesus and the Revolution, Part 01 - A Call to Revolution!
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
At the heart of Jesus's ministry is the declaration that "the Kingdom of God has come near!" This is not merely a call for sinners to secure the afterlife, but the announcement that the fulfillment of the covenant of salvation is at hand! The God of Israel has arrived to depose the powers and principalities of this age and re-establish his reign over all creation. In short, the central proclamation of Jesus is a call to recognize - and join! - THE Revolution! In this new series, we take a detailed look at the Gospel of Matthew to understand the nature of the revolution Jesus has come to...
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 19 - Resting for the Kingdom
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
The one commandment I disregard without a second thought is the one about resting. The irony, of course, is that I often ignore this divine call to honor the sabbath in what feels like the work of the Kingdom. And it has been more clear in the last two years than in most of my lifetime that there is work to be done. It is easy for good people to become overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility. Yet, the one with the greatest human responsibility of all, made public display of stopping, of resting... So this episode is a look at Jesus's pesonal need for rest, and the reminder...
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 18 - The Loving Road to Justice
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
No, your eyes do not deceive you...the podcast is back! (It never really left, but was definitely on leave of absence for a while...very sorry about that - some of the details are in the intro.) Then it's on to part 18 of our series: Hope in the Time of Covid. In this episode, we take a look at the difficult-yet-essential truth that the road to justice is paved in love. In this time when historic injustices are being revealed with painful clarity, we understand all the more the impulse of the oppressed to seek justice by means of violence. Even those of us who face little oppression can...
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 17 - Origin Stories
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Does the 21st century nation state of Peru play an essential role in salvation history? Short answer: Of course not. God loves Peruvians! But Peru the cultural/political body is not critical to the plan redemption. So why do many American Christians suspect that the US, as a nation (or a cultural dimension of the nation), is a divinely ordained actor on the stage of cosmic salvation? The (mistaken) answer is located deep in both church and American history, and needs to be corrected for the health of both.
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 16 - Admitting the Problem (of Sin)
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
How do I, as a white, well-educated, heterosexual, Protestant, cis male, who would never knowingly sanction racism of any sort, reflect on "systemic racism"? For those of us who try hard to be good people (defined in no small part by being not-racist), the phrase can spark a reflexive defensiveness ("Not me!"). Yet the enduring effects of racism are clear... So how do I think about my part in the "system"? Might I be an unwitting participant in oppression? Can I ask myself the question? And what if yes...?
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 15 - On Love, Hope and Change
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Hope is the belief that things can change for the better. And it is the question the gospel persistently sets before us: Are we naive in thinking that meaningful transformation is possible? And more naive still to believe that love is the means by which such transformation occurs? In this episode we look at the story of Nicodemus, a Pharisee confronted with Jesus's insistence that he be "born again from above" - that is to say: to surrender what he thinks he knows, and let God show him what love can do.
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 14 - What God Wants? Justice, Mercy and Humility!
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
"How does one appease a deity? Gain a favor? Avert a curse?" Such questions stood at the center of Ancient Near Eastern religion (and of many cultures since...). And thus great effort has been dedicated to rituals and ceremonies and strict adherence to divine instructions. So what does the God of Israel want from his people? What are our instructions? (And is our purpose to gain a blessing or escape a punishment??) In this episode we turn to the OT prophet Micah's succinct articulation of God's answer.
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Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 13 - Jesus and Divine Justice
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
As those called to share in God's project of restoration, justice is at the heart of our work. But what does the Bible mean by "justice"? The term easily conjures feelings and images not shalom (peace), but punishment - that divine justice is defined by the reward of the righteous and the proper condemnation of the wicked. (This is where much of the "law and order" language we hear in connection to politics arises!) But a closer look reveals God's concern is not judgment but compassion.
info_outlineThe ultimate lesson of Advent, indeed the ultimate lesson of the whole of scripture and the life of faith, is love - the pure, open, unending and unconditional, freely-given love of God. It is the simplest of insights, and yet we can go decades - even as confessing Christians - without truly seeing it...truly.
And so this is a sermon about exactly that: the love of God, as plainly as I can make it. It's not a Christmas sermon per se, but there is much within it about discovering Jesus (again). I hope it's of help!
Here's a quick link to translation of Augustine's Confessions I've been raving about!
And the biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:
It was preached on December 20, 2020 at Canvas Presbyterian Church (Irvine, CA). If you'd like to see the whole worship service, you can find it here. Or subscribe to the Canvas Vimeo page for our video archive or to see future worship services!
And know that we'd LOVE to have you join us for Christmas Eve worship! The service will be live at 4:30PM PST on Dec. 24th. You can find it on the Canvas website or on our Vimeo page.
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