All Episodes
Displaying 21 - 40 of 82 in total
Episode 21: He is our peace
In Paul’s cosmic portrait of Christ and his work, Jesus didn’t just make peace between sinful humanity and God; through his blood, he made peace for all of creation (C...
Episode 22: The fullness of God
Imagine being one of the disciples of Jesus. You’ve heard him say amazing things, and seen him do amazing deeds. You see him in a way that few do; you know how unique ...
Episode 23: Alienation
All of us, I suspect, have experienced broken relationships, even within our families; sometimes, we long for reconciliation. But have we ever thought of ourselves as ...
Episode 24: The enemies of God
In the previous episode, we considered what it meant to be alienated from God and in need of reconciliation. But have we ever considered ourselves to be among God’s “e...
Episode 25: What God sees in us
Previously, we considered what it would mean to think of ourselves as having been God’s enemies. That can be a challenge to our self-concept. But here’s the other side...
Episode 26: These fragile, beautiful bodies
You have a body; I have a body. That is how God created us, and that creation was good in God’s sight. But sometimes, we spiritualize the Christian life in a way that ...
Episode 27: Rooted in hope
Because of what Jesus has done, we are not who we once were; thanks be to God. At the same time, we’re not yet who we will be. Paul’s perspective on the Christian life...
Episode 28: The man behind the letter
The Colossians have never met Paul in person. They know him only by reputation and from whatever stories Epaphras must have told them. Paul has already introduced hims...
Episode 29: A suffering servant
Paul, also known as Saul of Tarsus, had once been a zealous and violent persecutor of the church. You can hear what sounds like regret over his past in some of his let...
Episode 30: It’s a mystery
As Christians, there are many things we believe that we will never fully comprehend. Even if we trust what we read in Scripture, we also know that we don’t understand ...
Episode 31: Striving toward perfection
Some of us, in one way or another, are perfectionists. It’s not just wanting to do things well, but partly a fear of failure, of being “not good enough.” Thus, when Pa...
Episode 32: Unburied treasure
When we read Paul, we can often hear echoes of the teaching of Jesus. Jesus spoke of the secrets of the kingdom, and in parables, likened the kingdom to a great treasu...
Episode 33: The knowledge that matters
As a professor helping to train people for various ministries, I value knowledge. But I am also keenly aware of the ways in which knowledge can be pursued for its own ...
Episode 34: With you in spirit
Paul has never met the Colossians, and is writing to them from a distance. Yet he tells them that he is with them in spirit (Col 2:5). He’s not scolding them, as if to...
Episode 35: What we’ve received
In some traditions, it’s common to speak of “receiving Jesus” by inviting him to take up residence in our hearts. Paul, too, speaks of the Colossians as have “received...
Episode 36: Rooted and grateful
In a highly individualistic culture, “tradition” can be a dirty word, suggesting the pressure to do things a certain way “just because.” But Paul thinks of the apostol...
Episode 37: Captivated
The apostle Paul could not possibly have imagined the online, virtual world we live in now. Some have called it an “attention economy,” in which marketing experts desi...
Episode 38: Do, don’t, and why
As we might expect in a letter such as this, filled with pastoral counsel, Paul gives the Colossians a number of dos and don’ts. On the one hand, they should walk in J...
Episode 39: Circumcision of the heart
Throughout the Old Testament and continuing into the days of Jesus and Paul, circumcision was a distinguishing mark of God’s people. Through the ministry of Paul and o...
Episode 40: Baptism, not circumcision
When we read the book of Acts as well as Paul’s letter to the Galatians, it’s abundantly clear that the apostle was vehemently opposed to requiring Gentile converts to...