Central: Recent Episodes
Ben Sloan
In the final episode of the second season, we explore the story of David and Goliath with fresh insights and scholarship to see why our strengths may also be our weaknesses.
How should we make decisions as Christians? How can we know what true wisdom is? We'll explore 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.
Here we look at the story of Jesus healing a demon-possessed man in Mark 5 to understand why sometimes we might be called away from God's (perceived) presence for fuller healing.
This episode we explore stories attributed to scripture that aren't in the Bible as well as the misuse of passages that are there.
This episode we look at Romans 13 to reflect on how to keep from sleepwalking through life.
This episode we explore why the proliferation of Christian denominations might not be such a bad thing.
Pharisees and a couple riddles from Jesus. Brahm's Hungarian Dance No. 5 is the music this episode. Email questions and comments to central.umc.podcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
This episode we explore the place of the "the law" in the Bible and in society in general.
We kick off our second season with the story of Jephthah from Judges chapter 11. Music comes from Chopin's Nocturne in Eb.
In this episode we look at two passages for what they might teach us about judgement: Matthew 3:11-12 & Matthew 25:31-34
In this episode we look at the complicated relationship between Christianity and Marriage. The first scripture reading is an adaptation of 1 Corinthians 13 performed by One Voice Chorus. The second reading is from selections from 1 Corinthians 7.
In this episode I welcome Rev. Wes Judy to discuss a disagreement we have over translations of love in Greek as it pertains to the second episode of the podcast. Scripture discussed include: Luke 6:32, John 15:12-14, Luke 11:43, and John 21. Wes' selection for the music comes from J. S. Bach's chorale which is the musical basis for "Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying".
Here we explore scripture as a source of authority looking at Matthew 21:28-32 and John 14:23-29.
Post election 2020, we look at what it means to claim Jesus as an authority in our lives. Our guiding scripture is Ephesians 1:19-21.
This episode is part 2 of 2 on lessons from the book of Jonah as they apply to the challenges we face during the pandemic. We'll specifically be examining Jonah 1:4-16.
The episode is part 1 of 2 on lessons from the book of Jonah as they apply to the challenges we face during the pandemic. We'll specifically be examining Jonah 3:4-10.
This is the last in a three-part series on Love. We explore Genesis 22:1-14 and Luke 14:25-26 to understand why and how the love of one's family can become problematic. For further reading, you can check out Søren Kierkegaard's book, "Fear and Trembling". Write me with questions and comments at central.umc.podcast@gmail.com
Here we continue our exploration of love from episode 2.
If you'd like to write with a comment or questions respond to: central.umc.podcast@gmail.com
As we explore the idea of calling in the Christian tradition, we'll be using the example of the prophet Jeremiah as a guide. Specifically, We'll look at Jeremiah 1:4-10.