Church Seasons

Fading into Ordinary, Ragtag Christianity after Pentecost

06/06/22

9 mins

By Chad Bird

After the big, splashy, exciting day of Pentecost in Acts 2, church life faded into the ordinary life of ragtag sinners encountering the God of the cross coming to them in seemingly unawesome ways. What can we learn from this?
- Pentecost
- Church Seasons
My God, My God, Why Have You ______ Me? Rethinking Psalm 22:1

04/15/22

11 mins

By Chad Bird

The Messiah is exiled from God on the cross as Israel was. Forsaken as Israel was forsaken. Cast away from Yahweh as Israel was. Why?
What Kind of God Washes Feet?

04/14/22

5 mins

By Chad Bird

How fitting that we have our feet washed by the very God from whom we once ran in terror and shame.
- Maundy Thursday
- Church Seasons
4 1/2 Hebrew Words To Know For Holy Week

04/06/22

11 mins

By Chad Bird

The Lord sees the blood of the Lamb upon us, but does not merely pass over us in mercy. He passes into us by grace.
Why Not Diapers and Casseroles Instead of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh?

01/05/22

12 mins

By Chad Bird

Couldn't Mary and Joseph have used more practical gifts? Why did the magi bring such unusual presents to the Christ Child? And how do these Gentiles fit into this very Jewish part of Matthew's Gospel? Let's ask some Old Testament prophets and poets for the answer.
The Christmas Story No One Wants to Talk About: The Holy Innocents

12/28/21

16 mins

By Chad Bird

A madman king. State-decreed infanticide. A fleeing holy family. What does all this have to do with Christmas? And how did a day of horror also become a day of hope? Today, December 28, the church remembers The Holy Innocents.
- Christmas
- Church Seasons
Christmas in Isaiah: Dog Soldiers, Army Boots, and Baby Jesus

12/22/21

13 mins

By Chad Bird

Gideon’s “foolish” weaponry of clay jars and shofars will give way to the Messiah’s “foolish” ways of doing things, for his weapons will be humility, fidelity, and, above all, the word of his Father.
Christmas is Scandalous

12/21/21

1 min

By Chad Bird Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorensen

A Christmas podcast mashup special.
- Christmas
- Church Seasons
Christmas is Scandalous

12/21/21

1 min

By Chad Bird Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorensen

A Christmas podcast mashup special.
- Christmas
- Church Seasons
The Jewish Nesting Doll of Christmas

12/20/21

12 mins

By Chad Bird

To understand the Nativity we need to grasp the Jewish nature of Christmas. God sent his Son into the womb of a Jewish virgin, to be born in a Jewish town, and to be crucified with a sign over his head that reads, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews,” in order that salvation might go forth to all people from him.
- Christmas
- Church Seasons
Debunking Popular Christmastime Myths: Temple Shepherds, Migdal Eder, and Swaddling Lambs

12/15/21

16 mins

By Chad Bird

The Bethlehem shepherds were raising lambs for the temple? Jesus was born in a shepherd's tower called Migdal Eder? Shepherds swaddled lambs to keep them unblemished then placed them in a manger to keep them safe? What are we to make of these popular claims?
- Christmas
- Church Seasons
O Bad Little Town of Bethlehem

12/10/21

14 mins

By Chad Bird

The early biblical stories about Bethlehem are dark and violent. They wreck us. They frighten us. In this little town, we see a microcosm of the vast and mangled mass of humanity, each individual thirsty for even a single bead of light to be dropped into the blackened depths of their souls. He who is born in Bethlehem is that Light.

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