All Episodes
Displaying 41 - 60 of 82 in total
Episode 41: Forgive us our debts
One of the themes of Jesus’ teaching was forgiveness; he himself embodied the compassion of God and expected his followers to be people of love and forgiveness themsel...
Episode 42: The charge
When the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of falsely claiming to be the King of the Jews, Pontius Pilate knew they were forcing his hand. To have last word in the debate, ...
Episode 43: The triumph of the cross
In Colossians 2, Paul uses different metaphors to speak of what God has done through the cross of Christ. The Colossians have been spiritually circumcised; they have h...
Episode 44: Religion versus gift
We’ve already seen how Paul speaks of the cross in a way that teaches the Gentile converts in Colossae that they have no need to be circumcised; they’ve already been c...
Episode 45: Foreshadowing the future
As we’ve seen, Paul gives the Colossians freedom in Christ with respect to the Jewish regulations of circumcision and Sabbath observance. In Colossians 2:17, he then a...
Episode 46: Humblebragging
What Paul has taught in chapter 2 seems to suggest that people were teaching the Gentile converts in Colossae that they needed to observe certain religious rituals. If...
Episode 47: Boasting in weakness
Paul has warned the Colossians to not listen to those who are boasting of their spiritual experiences as if such experiences made them better than other people, and th...
Episode 48: Disconnected
Over the years, I have heard story after story of people who felt alienated and excluded within their congregations. One imagines that the Colossians may have felt tha...
Episode 49: Don’t eat that!
Again, every religion has its dos and don’ts. In Colossians 2, Paul has dealt with some of the religious “dos” being pushed on the Colossians, and he will end the chap...
Episode 50: Beyond mere rules
Anyone who has raised kids (or tried to maintain a sense of order anywhere!) knows the importance of rules. What we want is for people to internalize the rules, not ju...
Episode 51: What’s the point?
We may impose all kinds of rules on ourselves and others, and the rules may seem to make perfect sense. The question, though, is what such rules are meant to accomplis...
Episode 52: Resolve
Have you ever made New Year’s resolutions? Did you resolve to start doing something, or to stop? Prohibitions based on sheer will don’t tend to work terribly well, and...
Episode 53: Aim higher
In Colossians 2, Paul dealt with the do’s and don’ts being urged on the Colossians, putting them in their proper perspective. At the beginning of chapter 3, then, he b...
Episode 54: The hope of glory
True Christian hope is much more than mere optimism; it looks forward with confidence to the future God has promised. As Paul has already said in chapter 1 the reveale...
Episode 55: You’re not that person anymore
Many of us may have experienced what it’s like to live with a religion of “don’ts,” with a litany of all the things that a “good Christian” doesn’t do. And Paul does s...
Episode 56: The old and the new
If we’re honest with ourselves, the list of behaviors and attitudes Paul associates with our “earthly nature” is intimidating; no one is innocent of such a list. But w...
Episode 57: Our new family
As Christians, we may be used to speaking appreciatively of our “church family,” a metaphor which suggests a caring community. But families in Scripture are often mark...
Episode 58: Chosen
In putting aside their old nature and their former pagan lifestyles, the Colossians must forsake a whole, sorry list of sinful attitudes and behaviors: greed, anger, a...
Episode 59: Who we are together
The do’s and don’ts of Paul’s letter are similar to the lists of virtues and vices that can be found in other writings of his day. The vices are like ratty clothing to...
Episode 60: Finding fault
Anyone who’s ever been part of a family or church family knows that people offend each other—intentionally or otherwise—take offense, and carry grudges. This was surel...