Bible Bites: Recent Episodes
A Norville Rogers Podcast
The Bible Bites Podcast is Sunday School for the 21st century. Tom, Elizabeth and JR. offer fun and engaging teaching in 20-minute bites, perfect for a commute, lunch break or kids' naptime. Welcome to Bible Bites!
Moses is mad. God is mad. Moses changes God's mind, and then his face glows. God takes a time out.
Israel breaks their marriage vows almost immediately. Why? And what can we learn about waiting for God?
The remaining instructions for the tabernacle involve the priestly garments, the priests' installation and a few other random bits. It all concludes with a Sabbath commandment.
We explore the Outer Court, then ask how the tabernacle functioned for Israel throughout their history. What happens to the tabernacle in the New Testament? And why does it still matter today?
The Tabernacle is the climax of the Exodus story. We explore the first two spaces - the Holy of Holies and the Holy place. What are these spaces, and why do they still matter today?
We finish the book of the Covenant. Given that many of these laws seem so archaic, how do we embody the spirit of these laws in our modern churches?
We enter the book of the Covenant. What are these legal codes? Plus, how the people respond to God, why priests have to wear underwear, and a confrontation of slavery in the Scriptures.
What does it mean to covet? How is coveting tied to dissatisfaction, and why is this the capstone command? Plus: how humility and poverty are antidotes to this sin.
In a world of alternative facts, how do Christians bear faithful and true witness? We explore the implications of the 9th commandment for personal holiness, communal life and participation in our global reality.
The sexual ethics of ancient Israel were much different from today. What does it mean to follow the seventh commandment faithfully today?
What does it mean not to kill? And how does Jesus' command in the Sermon on the Mount intensify this sixth commandment?
How do we honor our parents at different stages of life? How do we honor less-than-perfect parents? And how does Jesus' redefinition of family affect this commandment?
Misusing God's name means much more than saying, "Oh my God!" Why is God so concerned with God's reputation? And what does following this commandment look like today?
The Second Commandment isn't about not worshiping other gods. It's about not reducing Yahweh to a physical place or space. PLUS: an extended conversation on how this manifests in the Church.
What does it mean to have other gods? And why is this the first commandment? Idolatry is an insidious sin. We explore it to kick off our investigation of the 10 Commandments!
Before we explore each of the 10 Commandments, we take a look at the big picture. What is the Decalogue? How does it function in Exodus, in the Torah and in the contemporary Church?
Moses is overworked, so his father-in-law gives him some sage advice. What implications does his advice have for how we do ministry? And what implications does the identity of the sage have for how we do ministry?
The Israelites begin to feel the burden of the wilderness. God provides for them. Or is it a test?
Tom tells us about his new book, Underdogs and Outsiders. Why is Matthew's genealogy the perfect place from some serious Advent reflection? How do we read Biblical genealogies?
Why does the Exodus story shift from narrative to poetry? How does Moses' song embody the Ancient Near Eastern salvific imagination? Plus: marking salvation and the Israelites who didn't make it across
Israel crosses the Red Sea. God continues to test Pharaoh. Pharaoh is destroyed. Israel is re-created.
Welcome our new co-host Elizabeth Glass Turner. After we debate Hogwarts houses for a while, we reintroduce ourselves and prepare to dive back into Exodus!
The 10th Plague has arrived. We discuss the importance of the Passover as a liturgy, wonder at the death of the Egyptian firstborns and examine the Israelites' departure.
There's a genealogy. Aaron has a rod. And Pharaoh assumes the people are lazy, which is a convenient excuse for oppression.
Moses' first audience with Pharaoh doesn't go well. The Hebrews end up with more work. The contest of the gods continues.
Before Moses can get back to Egypt, he has to face an attack... from none other than GOD! What?!
Moses continues to refuse God, but now his objection becomes obstinate and unreasonable. God gets angry and compromises.
Why does God initially request only a short excursion out of Egypt? And how does the Israelites' looting of the Egyptians weigh on the American conversation about reparations for slavery?
In response to God's call, Moses voices several objections, including a demand for proof of God's identity. What does it mean that God revealed God's name to Moses?
Horeb vs. Sinai The LORD vs. the Angel of the LORD The prototypical Call Narrative Milk and Honey Objections
Moses commits murder. Moses moves to Midian. Moses rescues some women. God remembers Israel and suffers with the oppressed.
Moses' birth narrative. Moses' family has a plan. Pharaoh's daughter finds Moses. God works through Gentiles
The midwives are the stars of this episode. Why are they the unsung heroes of the Exodus story? What does it look like for us to midwife today?
Why doesn't the story name the Pharaoh? Why is Pharaoh such a tragic figure, and how might we be more like him than we want to admit?
We begin our journey through Exodus by meeting Jacob's family and watching as the story of God's people shifts from Patriarchs to Nations. The mission of Exodus is framed in terms of flourishing, and we learn how institutions can be both good and bad.
How does the Exodus inform how the Gospels tell the Christmas story? We focus on Matthew and John's stories of Jesus' birth.
Scholars debate when the Exodus actually took place - if it did at all. We explore the case for the so-called Early and Late dates, as well as alternative theories for the Exodus event.
Though Exodus is traditionally ascribed to Moses, scholars today agree he almost certainly didn't write it. What is the documentary hypothesis, and why is it falling out of fashion?
Rabbi Eliyahu Fink returns to the podcast as we discuss the Tabernacle. What is it? How did sacrifices function in the ancient Jewish imagination? And what role does it play in the Exodus story?
Bible Bites welcomes Rabbi Eliyahu Fink to delve into the theology of Exodus. This week, we come to Sinai. What is the Torah? Why does it matter?
Bible Bites welcomes Rabbi Eliyahu Fink to delve into the theology of Exodus. This week, we explore the climax of the Exodus: the Passover.
Bible Bites welcomes Rabbi Eliyahu Fink to delve into the theology of Exodus. This week, we wonder what it means that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Do we have free will?
Bible Bites welcomes Rabbi Eliyahu Fink to delve into the theology of Exodus. This week, we ask how a just God could send plagues on the whole nation of Egypt.
Bible Bites welcomes Rabbi Eliyahu Fink to delve into the theology of Exodus. We begin by asking how much the historicity of the Exodus matters, then ask why God would allow Israel to be enslaved?
It's time to dive into Exodus! Why is this our first Old Testament book? Because of the massive influence Exodus has on the rest of Scripture and Western civilization.
Listener Questions, round two! We revisit the Apocrypha, discuss criteria of historicity and exactly when Jesus was able to do miracles.
We finish up Mark's gospel with an extended look at the third and final section's key scene: Jesus' crucifixion.
We continue through Mark's Passion Week. The disciples abandon Jesus in Gethsemane, Peter denies Jesus, and Jesus faces two unjust trials.
We investigate Jesus' final days, beginning with the anointing at Bethany and the Last Supper.
We begin the third and final section of Mark: the Passion Week. We cover the Triumphal Entry, the Cleansing of the Temple and Cursing of the Fig Tree, and the first Temple controversy.
The second section of Mark's Gospel asks, "Now that we know that Jesus is the Messiah, what kind of Messiah is he?"
We dive into Mark's Gospel with the first of two episodes exploring the first major segment of the book. First, Mark wants us to ask: Who is Jesus?
We begin Mark's account of the Good News about Jesus. What is a Gospel? Who wrote this one? When did they write it, and why does it start (and end) so strangely?
We finish our New Testament introduction with an overview of the timeline of various New Testament events and writings.
What was the culture of Jesus' day like? We explore how patriarchy, patrilinality and patrilocality shaped the people of Israel.
What did religion look like in Israel in Jesus' day? We overview the various approaches to faithfulness to God, from the Essenes and Zealots to the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Herod the Great, Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Philip - who was actually in charge of Israel when Jesus was alive? We sort through the Herods for you.
The Jewish people's symbolic Exodus story, and how that plays out over Biblical history, particularly as Jesus comes on the scene.
Jonathan, Tom and JR. kick off the new podcast by introducing the format, then talking about what it means to say the Bible is inspired. Plus, a GIVEAWAY!