No Experts Allowed

Matthew 6:7-15

The Lord's Prayer comprises one of the most well-known portions of scripture but is often recited verbatim rather than functioning as a model prayer. Jonathan and Seth explore how prayer reorients us from ourselves back to God and how reading various translations helps us see familiar passages in new ways.

Exodus 11:1-10

We discuss God's command to Moses to warn Pharoah about the final plague. But only Pharoah wants the Israelites to stay; even Pharoah's servants respect Moses. This leads us to a discussion about confronting injustice when those in power are unwilling to act.

Jeremiah 15:10-14

Jeremiah pleads for the widows, orphans, and aliens that have been trampled on by Israelite society. In our first episode with guests, our wives, Abby and Patty, talk about how they've seen people in already precarious positions held down and held back.

Ezekiel 36:33-38

Ezekiel proclaims a vision of renewed gardens and rebuilt cities. God does not throw away what seems desolate and forlorn but will transform it. That theme leads to a discussion about the prison industrial complex, recidivism, and the need for a system that takes seriously the reforming capacity of people.

Isaiah 56:1–6

Isaiah proclaims that all will be part of God's people; foreigners are invited to join in praise. Jonathan and Seth discuss how churches both intentionally and accidentally exclude others. We also discuss chicken sandwiches.

Matthew 16:1-4

Jesus chides the religious leaders' ability to predict the weather, but not understand the miracles happening in front of them. He continues by pointing to a rather cryptic "sign of Jonah." Seth and Jonathan discuss how churches can interpret the signs of the times.

Genesis 31:1-21

Tired of his father-in-law's treatment, Jacob flees Laban. But in the story, Rachel and Leah are relatively quiet, passive characters. Jonathan and Seth discuss how the Bible (and all texts) reinforce one perspective to the exclusion of others and how we can elevate those who whisper in the text.

Psalm 105:1-11

Praise saturates the Psalms. Since the writer of Psalm 105 roots worship in God's action, Jonathan and Seth discuss ways they've seen God move in their stories to motivate praise.

Matthew 7:15-20

Returning to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we discuss how to determine whether someone is a false prophet as well as our need to address harmful ideologies without attacking the healthy parts of the tree.

Isaiah 2:1–4

Jonathan and Seth discuss how God's kin-dom requires the transformation of weapons into tools that renew and reconnect people with the earth.

We talk briefly about the organization Raw Tools, which literally turns guns into garden tools but also offers non-violence training. Read more about them here: rawtools.org