Entering the Promised Land

 

World powers at war. Migrations of displaced peoples. And the Promised Land is caught in the crossfire.

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Israel readies itself to enter the Promised Land and God shows up in a big way. In fact, the Commander of the Lord's Army shows up. I wonder who that is?

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Lots of things happen in this liminal space as Israel crosses over from slavery into the land of promise. Cutting off, heaping up, spies and sex workers--it all comes together in a dramatic way as we follow the Israelites across the Jordan River.
 

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

 

This class is for the skeptics in the bunch. Walls falling down when you shout at them? The sun standing still for 24 hours? Must we suspend all laws of physics? What about Biblical Inerrancy? What do we do with all this stuff?

 

We tackle these tough questions. There is room for everyone at the table--the skeptics and the literalists. We finish up Joshua today and get the Israelites settled in the Promised Land.

Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah

 

This book is the cesspool of the Bible. And we often mistake that cesspool for being a reflection of God when it is actually a reflection of the people he was trying to communicate with. These stories are violent, earthy, and often overtly sexual--and they are in the Bible for a reason.

 

Join us as we explore "campfire theatre" at its best.

Gideon the Timid and the 300 Not-So-Great Warriors

 

It's a good thing God shows up for Israel. I'd hate to have to rely on Gideon. And, really, that's the point God is making. God often picks the weakest to be the "hero" so there is no question at all as to who is doing the saving.

 

Gideon is a sort of Clark Kent/Superman hero. Half the time he's timid and cautious and half the time he's a brilliant, courageous hero. His son, on the other hand, is ambitious, arrogant, and a serial killer. As usual, the Bible takes some crazy twists and turns. This time, the question is how to know God's will for us. Gideon's answer was to "fleece" God. What do you do?

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Jephthah's Daughter

 

This is one of the most difficult stories in Scripture. So it is rarely taught and most people don't even know it's in there. What do you do with child sacrifice--especially when it is specifically allowed according to the Law of Moses?

 

We don't just use one backpack tool on this tough story--we use two! And the results are startling. If you have time, stick around for the after-class discussion at the end of the video. There's some good stuff in there.

Samson, the Incredible Hulk

 

What happens when God's call goes off the rails? We all know about Samson's long hair and Delilah's treachery, but there's a lot more to the story. The enemies du jour are the Philistines. They've been a thorn in the side of the tribe of Dan from the git-go and now the Lord's going to do something about it.

 

The problem is, God picks Samson as the hero this time. Why is that a problem? Because Samson is all about Samson. This week we'll see what happens when the hero is an immature hothead who thinks he's God's gift to women. And we'll talk about our own gifts and how God is using them...or not.

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Micah, the Levites, and the Concubine

 

From the frying pan into the fire

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This one is even worse than Jephthah's daughter, but don't chicken out! Put on your HazMat suit and wade in with us. We're going to add an important tool to the backpack that will help us figure this out.

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There's not even a judge involved this time, so why are Chapters 17-21 in here at all? How are these stories even related? Believe it or not, we'll make sense of all of it.

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Then we can breathe a sigh of relief. We'll be finished with Judges.

A Love Story

 

A love story. A story of courage. A new tool for our backpack. And some cool info on the origins of the Old Testament we hold in our hands today.

 

The discussion afterwards could best be described as "free range" -- LOL. Enjoy!

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