Commons Church Podcast

Jesus taught primarily in parables. Short pithy stories that surprise us with Jesus unique perspective on life. These parables centre around three main concepts. Kingdom, Grace and, wait for it… Judgement. In this series we intend to face into the hardest parables, those that give us Jesus’ unique perspective on judgement. As Klyne Snodgrass explains: Discourse we tolerate; to story we attend. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence. By creating a narrative world, stories establish an unreal, controlled universe. The author abducts us and—almost god-like—tells us what reality exists in this narrative World, what happens, and why. And as we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ narrative world—we hope to be transformed by the experience. ★ Support this podcast ★

Jesus taught primarily in parables. Short pithy stories that surprise us with Jesus unique perspective on life. These parables centre around three main concepts. Kingdom, Grace and, wait for it… Judgement. In this series we intend to face into the hardest parables, those that give us Jesus’ unique perspective on judgement. As Klyne Snodgrass explains: Discourse we tolerate; to story we attend. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence. By creating a narrative world, stories establish an unreal, controlled universe. The author abducts us and—almost god-like—tells us what reality exists in this narrative World, what happens, and why. And as we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ narrative world—we hope to be transformed by the experience. ★ Support this podcast ★

Jesus taught primarily in parables. Short pithy stories that surprise us with Jesus unique perspective on life. These parables centre around three main concepts. Kingdom, Grace and, wait for it… Judgement. In this series we intend to face into the hardest parables, those that give us Jesus’ unique perspective on judgement. As Klyne Snodgrass explains: Discourse we tolerate; to story we attend. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence. By creating a narrative world, stories establish an unreal, controlled universe. The author abducts us and—almost god-like—tells us what reality exists in this narrative World, what happens, and why. And as we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ narrative world—we hope to be transformed by the experience. ★ Support this podcast ★

Jesus taught primarily in parables. Short pithy stories that surprise us with Jesus unique perspective on life. These parables centre around three main concepts. Kingdom, Grace and, wait for it… Judgement. In this series we intend to face into the hardest parables, those that give us Jesus’ unique perspective on judgement. As Klyne Snodgrass explains: Discourse we tolerate; to story we attend. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence. By creating a narrative world, stories establish an unreal, controlled universe. The author abducts us and—almost god-like—tells us what reality exists in this narrative World, what happens, and why. And as we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ narrative world—we hope to be transformed by the experience. ★ Support this podcast ★

This series has become a staple for us, and rightly so. Sex and money is our annual attempt to talk about the issues that challenge and puzzle us most. And we won’t be done any time soon. We realize that while the Bible has plenty to say on these topics, easy moralism doesn’t work. What we need is a greater depth of insight, to see sex and money as gifts of God, but also as renegade powers; as things that bless our lives, but also as things that can bring us pain and loss when we fail to understand them well. We need reasons, not just rules. This year though, we are changing things up by using this series to trace the story of Ruth. Gender imbalance, poverty and social concerns, and ultimately sex and love find their way into this tale and as we talk candidly about sex and money, we will see once again how grounded and practical Christian faith is. ★ Support this podcast ★

This series has become a staple for us, and rightly so. Sex and money is our annual attempt to talk about the issues that challenge and puzzle us most. And we won’t be done any time soon. We realize that while the Bible has plenty to say on these topics, easy moralism doesn’t work. What we need is a greater depth of insight, to see sex and money as gifts of God, but also as renegade powers; as things that bless our lives, but also as things that can bring us pain and loss when we fail to understand them well. We need reasons, not just rules. This year though, we are changing things up by using this series to trace the story of Ruth. Gender imbalance, poverty and social concerns, and ultimately sex and love find their way into this tale and as we talk candidly about sex and money, we will see once again how grounded and practical Christian faith is. ★ Support this podcast ★

This series has become a staple for us, and rightly so. Sex and money is our annual attempt to talk about the issues that challenge and puzzle us most. And we won’t be done any time soon. We realize that while the Bible has plenty to say on these topics, easy moralism doesn’t work. What we need is a greater depth of insight, to see sex and money as gifts of God, but also as renegade powers; as things that bless our lives, but also as things that can bring us pain and loss when we fail to understand them well. We need reasons, not just rules. This year though, we are changing things up by using this series to trace the story of Ruth. Gender imbalance, poverty and social concerns, and ultimately sex and love find their way into this tale and as we talk candidly about sex and money, we will see once again how grounded and practical Christian faith is. ★ Support this podcast ★

This series has become a staple for us, and rightly so. Sex and money is our annual attempt to talk about the issues that challenge and puzzle us most. And we won’t be done any time soon. We realize that while the Bible has plenty to say on these topics, easy moralism doesn’t work. What we need is a greater depth of insight, to see sex and money as gifts of God, but also as renegade powers; as things that bless our lives, but also as things that can bring us pain and loss when we fail to understand them well. We need reasons, not just rules. This year though, we are changing things up by using this series to trace the story of Ruth. Gender imbalance, poverty and social concerns, and ultimately sex and love find their way into this tale and as we talk candidly about sex and money, we will see once again how grounded and practical Christian faith is. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

We love the Biblical stories. We love what they do for us and in us. This fall we follow the wanderer Abraham, the “father of many” and the “father of faith”, who “went, not knowing where he was going”. Abraham was living his response to the voice which had told him (past) to “go” from his home country, and to journey (present) to the land God would (future) show him. The writer Thomas Cahill suggests that those little words — “Abraham went” — are two of the boldest words ever written. They mark a departure from the cycle of never-ending sameness which de ned that world, the cycle of repetition it seemed impossible to break out of. But in obedience to the call, Abraham began to move towards the possibility of something new, something unseen yet promised. And so we wander these weeks with our father Abraham, seeing his story and ourselves in his story. Abraham shows us what it means to “walk by faith, not by sight”. All of God’s children who walk by faith are, in this sense, children of Abraham. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Brad Jersak writes: “What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle—false gods that need to be challenged. But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we’ve dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co- suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had ‘A More Christlike God’?” That’s it. That’s our imagination as a church. To become a community that looks like Jesus, so that we can serve a God who looks like Jesus, and prepare to participate in a kingdom that looks just like Jesus. As we launch into our second year together as Commons Church we want to take the start of the season to refocus our community, theology, and participation on Jesus. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

Prayer is perhaps the most precious and most under-utilized gift we have. For a multitude of reasons, people who follow Jesus often struggle with it. And the more capable you think you are, the bigger the struggle. Perhaps this is because we fail to see the deep practicality of prayer, the deeply connected way it can reorder our lives. Perhaps we need to look at life, and ourselves, in a new way. In this series we want to imagine the Lord’s prayer as five questions we can ask daily. We want to take the practice of talking to and being with God, and see this way as something solid and tangible, something daily, something that matters to our experience of life. If you have grown a little stale in your personal prayers, this series promises to re-energize what is most basic. Prayer is more practical than you ever dreamed. ★ Support this podcast ★

We've all heard about the battle of Armageddon and yet in the Revelation it's almost over before it begins. War is a false climax. It is grace and peace that win the day just as God has always promised. ★ Support this podcast ★

Clearly Revelation is calling us to be awake and aware in our world, but when it comes to these characters wrapped in riddles what does it mean to be watchful? Are we fearfully waiting for the right/wrong person to emerge or should be aware of the cycles of empire that dominate human history? ★ Support this podcast ★

Sometimes what seems terrifying is little more than a toothless roar. If war isn't the antidote, and evil has already been overcome, and what is the part that we play in celebrating, trusting and participating in Christ's victory. ★ Support this podcast ★

"Wars and rumours of war." That's a line from Jesus, but seems at home here in this section of the Revelation. Sometimes we assume that God will eventually go to war himself, but would it mean for God to go to war against evil. ★ Support this podcast ★

Few literary images have inspired as much creativity and speculation as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Who are these figures and are they meant to drive us to look for imposing figures in our world or is there a deeper more timeless meaning behind these characters. ★ Support this podcast ★

One of the keys to Revelations potency is way it plays with our expectations. It sets us up what images that seem to confirm our assumptions about God, only to pull the rug out by giving us an even better imagination. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Revelation of Christ can seem disorienting. Often the problem is we don't understand the rules of the genre or the cultural images that are being used. The first step in understanding this book is recognizing that the text is meant to reveal God to us, not hide him from us. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★

Moses, Moses, Moses. One of the most fascinating characters of the entire Bible. So fascinating in fact that Director Ridley Scott and Actor Christian Bale have decided it was worth spending almost $150 million dollars making a movie to tell his story. But before Hollywood turns it’s creative engines toward the story of Moses we thought we would take some time this fall to explore his story through the biblical lens. No character has had as deep an impact on the shape of the Jewish scriptures as Moses. He speaks face-to-face with God, heads a revolt against the Pharaoh, leads his people out into the wilderness, and is credited by some with authoring Torah (the first five books of the Bible). And yet, somehow, Moses remains a very human character accessible to all of us. Over the next eight weeks we will follow Moses from his ignominious beginnings as a baby in a basket through to his destiny as the leader of a fledgling nation. Hang on. ★ Support this podcast ★