The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

Fate and Tragedy

 

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).

Painting: Christ Weeping over Jerusalem by Ary Scheffer, 1849.  Public domain.  

The Life Well-Lived

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).  

The Purpose of Christmas: The Gift of God’s Love

This is the story of the God's Word made flesh, the Savior, Jesus Christ being born into the world, taking on human flesh to rescue us from sin and death. 

A Day to Rejoice

When we needed rescue from sin, death, and the devil, God didn't send an angel.  He sent His Son into the world.  

The Secret of the Ages, Revealed

A message for the morning of Christmas Eve 

No room in the inn?  Sent to the stable? A baby in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger? 

There were no mistakes here, according to God's plans and intentions.  

 

Painting: The Nativity of Christ by Vladimir Borovikovsky.  Public domain.  

Prophesied Savior (Part III): Where Do You Hang Your Hat?

 

This one looks at the prophecy from Micah that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem.  

Hymn: A Great and Mighty Wonder (public domain).  (This is a new recording!)

Engraving: The Prophet Isaiah by Gustave Dore

Prophesied Savior (Part II): Emmanuel

 

Here we talk about prophecies in Isaiah 8 and 9, specifically about Emmanuel, God with us.  

The Hymn: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (public domain)

The engraving: Isaiah by Gustave Dore.  (public domain)

Prophesied Savior (Part I): Born of a Virgin

Text for discussion: Isaiah 7:13-14

 

Prophecy in Scripture comes from hundreds of years before its fulfillment.  This episode discusses predictive prophecy, and specifically Isaiah 7:13-14.  

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (public domain).  

The engraving: Isaiah by Gustave Dore.

 

When the Flesh is Weak

Text for discussion: Leviticus 13.  

To get through all of Scripture, which my hope at this podcast is to do, we will even have to get through the parts that seem even a bit like reading the rules to a game, yet there is important information even in the passages that are a challenge to push through. 

These passages will apply even to texts that are found in the New Testament, and be helpful for understanding the nature of the world and what Christ has come to do.  

The hymn: What Child is This?  (public domain)

The image: Moses (by More)

Of the Clean and the Unclean

Texts for discussion: Leviticus 11 and 12. 

Holiness is a mystery beyond our understanding.  In the Fallen world, God allowed the consumption of meat for our nutritional needs.  Some animals were clean, and others unclean.  Why was a distinction made?  Did God change the rules later?  What was different?  And, what makes children significant?  

The graphic: Moses (by Dore)

The hymn: The People that In Darkness Sat (public domain).