The Bible for the Ordinary Life

We can learn a lot about Abraham's nephew Lot when we look at the progression of how he moved from the center of God's calling to the gatekeeper of Sodom.  It can be hard for us to leave the things we love, even if they are the very things that will destroy us.  The Bible is for everyone.

In the second half of Genesis 18, we are privy to a conversation between Abraham and the Lord. The conversation can teach us so much about our themes of "God's character" and "the character of humans.  These verse also set the stage for what's about to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. Let's stay true to the text and examine what it can teach us about God and ourselves. The Bible is for everyone.

Sarah has been depending on Abraham's encounters with God for the promise of her long desired son. In Genesis 18, Sarah finally hears it from the mouth of God herself. But she's way past childbirth so this promise seems impossible. In this episode we'll explore the themes of the promised seed, the character of God, and the tendencies of humans as we peel back the details on a Abraham and Sarah's encounter with three mysterious visitors.

In this chapter God shows up and delivers more detail on his covenant plan for Abram than ever before. Abram and Sarai get new names, and the promised son is also given a name. Abram learns that he has something big to do to physically mark himself and his descendants as belonging to God. His obedience is immediate. 

 Sarai can't wait on God's plan for a son, so she devises a plan for Abram to have a son through her servant/slave, Hagar. The plan works perfectly, except Sarai isn't happy because now Hagar is treating her badly. The situation unravels further and Hagar runs away. But God has bigger plans. He meets her in the wilderness and delivers a strong message. In this episode we examine this chapter through the lens of three themes: the promised seed, the character of God, and the patterns of humans.

This chapter is the detailed covenant between God and Abram. Abram had received a promise from God. But years have passed, some mistakes have been made, some victories won. God reassures Abram of the promise, but Abram's got some questions. Because he believes God, he questions him about how these things can come true when his circumstances seems impossible.  So God makes a covenant with Abram. What's unique about God's covenants is that God is the only one who makes the promises. Humans just receive them. There is much to learn about God's character as well as patterns of humans from this chapter. With God, the impossible becomes possible.

Chapter 14 of Genesis details an epic battle between an alliance of four kings and a group of 5 kings. Among the losing kings are the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram's nephew Lot is captured so Abram goes after Lot and rescues him. As he returns home he is blessed by a person named Melchizedek. Melchizedek turns out to be a bit of a mystery and the verses about him leave us with more questions than answers.  But despite the unknowns we can be certain that Abram's God is the same God we serve today.

The Old Testament teaches us a lot about the character of God, but also about patterns in humanity. Through the story of Abram we can see how humans often rely on our own solutions, pursue wealth and comfort, but can have remarkable faith. The two narratives in this episode will teach us about what not to do when our faith is tested and how to believe God even when our circumstances seem impossible.

In this episode we'll cover what we learn about God's character through studying the Old Testament, in particular, His faithfulness to His promises. God appears to Abram at a tree and shows him the land He will give to Abram's descendants. This scene is packed with imagery and meaning.  There are plenty of take-aways from this narrative story. 

We are making a transition from the story of Adam's line through Noah to the second major story in Genesis - Abram. In these verses Abrams family is described and his movement from his hometown to the land God calls him to is initiated. There are a few interesting tidbits tucked into these genealogies and descriptions as well as a really important lesson about what can sometimes hold us back from following God completely.

It's easy to skip chapters in the Bible dedicated to genealogies. Chapter 10 of Genesis is no exception. But, within this chapter are a few important nuggets that are worth discussion and help lead us into chapter 10, the story of the Tower of Babel. I picked up some really cool things from my study of this chapter, including some fun Hebrew word play, which I explain in this episode. I hope you tune in and enjoy!

Noah is a picture of so much GOOD, and yet, he is flawed. He is not the promised seed, nor are his sons. In this episode, we wrap up the life of Noah with a story of his failure despite his life of obedience.  This story has implications for us as well. Though we do much that is good, we are all flawed. The story of the Bible points us to the only One who is not flawed and who can free us from the curse of sin.

The story of Noah's flood might be familiar to you, but there are some hidden gems when you study the ancient literary techniques used by biblical authors.  One example is found in the story of the flood through a chiastic structure. In this episode we peel back the layers of this chiasma and discuss why Noah makes such a great foreshadowing of the promised seed from Genesis 3:15. The flood story wraps up here, but stay tuned, Noah's story isn't over, just like yours.

The story of Noah and the ark is familiar to many.  But if you read it looking at Noah as a potential promised seed, what emerges is a picture of tremendous obedience in the midst of a wicked world. This episode will peel back the layers of a familiar story and hopefully encourage you to walk the walk as Noah did.

It's the open scene for the story of Noah. Remember the classic Bible story of the ark and the animals?  Well, there's an interesting scene description that this story has before it gets started.  There are multiple points in these first few verses of chapter 6 that scholars debate about.  But one thing is clear - the answer to the question "are humans fundamentally good or fundamentally bad".  And how you answer this is critical to understanding the story of the Bible - the story of the promised Seed.

Genesis has a few genealogies and in this episode we encounter two of them.  Genealogies can be easy to skip because there doesn't seem to much we can learn from them.  However, the purpose is to trace the lineage of the promised Seed - the one who God promised he would send to crush the head of the serpent.  In this episode we explore Cain's line and Seth's line, both sons of Adam, both with potential for producing the heir.

The story of Cain and Abel is a familiar one.  it should come as no surprise that murder has consequences.  But have you ever stopped to consider God's character in this story?  What about Cain's? In this episode we'll spend some time really looking closely at the characteristics of both Cain and of God to learn what we can from both and hopefully encourage us to be more like God himself.

Genesis 3 is a critical chapter to understand the entire Biblical narrative. It's here in these verses where we discover what Adam and Eve did wrong and how God responded.  We learn a lot about who God is as he seeks out the hiding couple and as he questions them and deals with their disobedience.  I hope you'll find that what we learn about God in this scenario is a relief given how he could have responded.

Adam and Eve had it all.  A perfect life.  Yet somehow they fell into temptation.  What was it about the conversation with the serpent that led to their disobedience? How could they have been so tempted when they had the perfect life?  We will examine these question as we unpack one of the most critical passages in Genesis that explains why the story of humanity and the story of humanity's salvation unfold the way it does. http://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com

When God saw that Adam was lonely he said it was "not good".  So Adam set out to find the perfect companion, but none could be found. Instead, God created a woman out of Adam's side which included his bones and his flesh.  It was an ideal circumstance: a lush orchard garden, a source of water, the freedom to eat from any tree (except one), and the perfect companion for man, a woman.  Eden is God's ideal for us and as we look at these verses we learn a lot about who God is and what He desires for us. https://www.biblefortheordinarylife.com