The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

(A revisit from September 6, 2024)

Text for discussion: Luke 20.  

God did not create us to die and go into black oblivion.  He gave us an eternal soul and plans to raise us one day.  We will be judged by His Son.  Many have scoffed at this very idea, but God's Son participated in the creation AND redeemed it from sin and death.  

Jesus says that even Moses in the Torah confessed that the dead are raised because he calls God the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God is the God of the living.  

The hymn: O Love How Deep.  (Public domain).  

The art: The Ancestors of Christ: David, Solomon (Jesse is also mentioned).  Michelangelo, 1511.  (Public Domain). 

(A revisit from August 30, 2024)

Text for discussion:  Luke 19.  

In this chapter we meet small of stature Zacchaeus, hear an alternate take on the parable of the talents, and hear of the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday.  

The hymn:  What is the World to Me?  

The art: Christ and Zaccaeus, by Niels Larsen Stevn, 1913.  (Public domain in the US)

(A revisit from August 23, 2024)

Text for discussion: Luke 18.

The world is a place where we recognize that there is what seems good, and what is not as it ought to be.  We long for a better place, but it is not to be found in country or in city life.  It is not found on the earth as it is.  Where can we find a place where life is as it ought to be?  

Hymn:  All Depends on Our Possessing (public domain).

The art: The rich young ruler illustration from Harold Copping Picutres The Crown Series c, unknown date.  Public domain in the US.  

(A revisit from August 16, 2024)

Text for discussion: Luke 17.  

As we return to the book of Luke, we look at a passage where Jesus talks about the end times.  Will folks be left behind? What does Jesus mean?  The signs spoken of here are unmistakeable!  

 

Hymn: O Love How Deep.  (Public domain).

The art: Gustave Dore, "The Darkness at the Crucifixion."  (Public domain).

(A revisit from February 2, 2024)

Luke 16

We can become engrossed with worldly ways and perspectives, forgetting that life is transient, and neglecting the bigger picture.  Christ has risen from the dead, and He has a future beyond this life in store for us.  

The hymn: My Faith Looks Up to Thee (public domain).

The painting: Lazarus and the Rich Man by Eduard von Gebhardt, 1865.  Public domain.  

(A Revisit from January 26, 2024) 

Text: Luke 15 

Sustainability is not a word that comes up in Scripture.  What was God's desire for His very good creation?  

In this episode we look at the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.  Prodigal is a word that means "overly extravagant, or wasteful."  Who is truly the prodigal one?  And, in the end, are people expendable?  

The hymn: What Wondrous Love is This (public domain)

The art: Return of the Prodigal Son by Bartolome Esteban Murillo. (1667-1670, public domain).

(A revisit from July 19, 2024)

Text for discussion:  Luke 14.  

Jesus was constantly being scrutinized by the Pharisees.  For us, following Him will not be easy.  It may put us at odds with family and friends.  It may mean persecution.  Being salt is not easy.  What does this mean?  

 

The hymn: Savior Again, To Thy Dear Name we Raise

(A revisit from January 12, 2024)

Text for discussion: Luke 13

God does not will that tragedies happen, they are a result of life in the Fallen world where God's rain falls on the just and the unjust.  In this world, the safety nets are taken down, though in certain instances God will intervene.  In Luke 13, Jesus speaks of two tragedies, and what they mean.  

Hymn: The Day Thou Gavest (public domain hymn).

(A revisit from January 5, 2024)

Text for discussion: Luke 12.  

The world can be a rat race.  We may live our lives caught in a constant cycle of doing: of eating, sleeping, working, and repeating the cycle day after day.  Yet, it is God who provides for us, and Jesus urges us to look to higher things, keeping our eyes on the God who not only provides, but is preparing a place for us in His Kingdom.  

The hymn:  The People that In Darkness Sat.  

The painting: The Last Judgement, by Rogier van Der. Weyden.  1445-1450.  (public domain).  

(A revisit from November 17, 2023)

Text for discussion: Luke 11. 

The way of operating in the world is different from the kingdom to come.  

In the world we see the pain and perils of Fallenness, the brokenness of society.  In this dark and difficult situation, God hears our prayers, and answers them, and when this life is over, promises to bring us to Himself.  

This week’s hymns: 

Eternal Father, Strong to Save