Bible in a Year (The Story) Podcast
Bible in a Year (The Story) podcast features Professor Rachel Bodell, a marketing storyteller who teaches marketing, innovation, and leadership at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA University). She will not only read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation in one year, but she will share all the resources that have helped her to understand the Bible as one unfolding connected story along the way through short commentaries and reflections from biblical scholars, most of which read original biblical languages like Hebrew and Greek (e.g., Dr. Tim Mackie, N.T. Wright, Dr. Carmen Imes, Dr. Jeannine Hanger, Dr. James Petitfils, Kristi Mclelland, Dr. John Walton, Dr. Michael Heiser, and Dr. Lucy, Peppiatt) By 2024, we hope to additionally offer special episodes from the renowned Bible scholars themselves that will help you understand the context of hard-to-understand stories within the meta-narrative of the Bible. We want to help you not only listen but hear what God is saying through the Bible every year and grow in your understanding, practice, and re-telling of the story to others as you learn more about how all the pieces of the Bible fit together to tell the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD with a God that is inviting us to participate in the story as it is unfolding today! Each episode is about 15 minutes and includes two to three scripture readings and a short commentary and reflection with suggested biblical scholar sources (e.g. The Bible Project and Premiere Insights) for this is our prayer ”that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:9-11). Some passages of the Bible and commentary reflections contain adult themes that may not be suitable for younger children - parental discretion is advised. Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
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Episodes
Friday May 19, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
Today is John 13-15 and Proverbs 6:6-11. Today we read about the spirit and how Jesus is a man who is going away and can only be in one place at a time but the spirit, the advocate, is His divine presence and can be in all places at all times. So now we see the ONE God in father, son and spirit that consists of a loving relationship which draws us in and as Dr. Mackie says it is Jesus’s disciples who abide in God’s love where He is the vine and we are the branches. We see to that this is just the beginning, we are to go into the world empowered by the spirit to carry out restorative and redemptive missional service which is prodigal, putting God on display, and helping others navigate to atonement through Jesus by bearing witness to the story, the truth of of Jesus, what He did because He loves us and how He makes a new way for us to be human.
Resources:
Dr. Tim Mackie. New Testament Book Overviews John 13-21. The Bible Project. (8 minutes and 32 seconds) https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/john-13-21/
McClelland, Kristi (June 2022). Jesus & Women: In The First Century Now Bible Study. Lifeway.
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Thursday May 18, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
Today we read John 10-12 and Proverbs 6:1-5. Today we are reminded that the book of John is an invitation to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that through Him alone can we find “life.” We have learned that Jesus is the new temple and He is where Heaven and Earth meet. We are reminded that the miracles and claims of Jesus lead others to ultimately make a choice, believe or don’t. We read about Lazarus, the man Jesus put himself in jeopardy to raise him from the dead, all because Jesus loved Him. Jesus knew this act would lead to His death and He did it anyway. It’s a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do for all who have missed the mark, sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God, for those in need of a new heart, in need of a messiah priest king.
Resources:
Dr. Tim Mackie. New Testament Book Overviews John 1-12. The Bible Project. (8 minutes and 46 seconds) https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/john-1-12/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Today we read John 7-9 and Proverbs 5:15-23. Today we read several stories about what Jesus was doing, despite the Jewish leaders trying to ruin Jesus’s reputation and worse, calling for His death. We read about a plot to catch Jesus not knowing or implementing Moses’s law, but instead Jesus demonstrates His knowledge and fulfillment of that law. In the process, Jesus brought justice and righteousness to a woman who, yes, missed the mark (sinned), but Jesus offered His atonement and grace, He gave her instruction into the lifestyle of His shalom. Jesus also healed a blind man.
Resources:
McClelland, Kristi (June 2022). Jesus & Women: In The First Century Now Bible Study. Lifeway.
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Today we read John 4-6 and Proverbs 5:1-14. Today we read about the first person Jesus disclosed His divinity to, a Samaritan woman at a well. She also was the first missionary, going to tell people about Jesus. We also read in this story about the eucharist or communion and how different sources read John 5 verse 54 and 55 differently - transubstantiation, consubstantiation, or symbolic. We also read about the first “I Am” statement where Jesus reveals He is the bread of life and the “I Am” statements build on Yahweh’s revelation of being the “I Am.”
Resources:
Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins:
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 99: The Word Became Flesh — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) Podcast
McClelland, Kristi (June 2022). Jesus & Women: In The First Century Now Bible Study. Lifeway.
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Today we read 1 Samuel 7-8, John 1-3, and Psalm 86. In the story of Samuel we read about Samuel’s leadership of Israel and their desire for a king. And like Deuteronomy, God tells Samuel this is dangerous and to warn the Israelites. The truth is, Yahweh God wants to reign and He is sending His son, Jesus as the messianic priest king. Because so much of what we have been reading points to Jesus, we are taking only a short sneak peek into the New Testament. We will read the gospel of John this week and then return to the story of kings in Samuel. The story in Johns emphasizes Jesus as God and points back to the identity of Jesus as the lamb of God, the one who is the ultimate sacrificial atonement for sin. We also read about our response to Jesus, the call is to believe and obey with our actions.
Resources:
Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins:
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 99: The Word Became Flesh — The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) Podcast
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Saturday May 13, 2023
Saturday May 13, 2023
This is the weekend review and reflection challenge. We'll be back on Monday! If you need to catch up, the weekend gives you the chance to do that. Remember, you can start whenever, pause whenever, but never stop listening (or reading) the Bible!
Reflection challenge question: What is one or two things you learned this week from listening to the Bible that you can put into practice in your life today?
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to our show wherever you are podcasting to get notifications to remind you on Monday that the show has been posted! Subscribing, rating, reviewing and sharing our show also helps to organically grow our channel and make it easier for people to find us! Thanks for listening and we look forward to being back with you next week.
Friday May 12, 2023
Friday May 12, 2023
Today we read 1 Samuel 1-6, and Psalm 150. This story is about a woman who loves God and family, she wants a child. Hannah calls out to God and promises to give her firstborn son back to God and Yahweh blesses her with a son, Samuel. He is trained by the priest. At the same time the Israelites try to fight the Philistines, but instead of going to God, they try to use God i.e., the ark of the covenant to lead their victory. God allows Israel to fail and the Philistines to take the ark of the covenant and put it in their temple with their God, but God is the Lord over all, no other god and He belongs with His people. God takes down the Philistine god and sends plagues. The Philistines return the ark of the covenant.
Resources:
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins. 7 minutes 19 seconds. Overview 1 Samuel Summary. Bible Project.https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/1-samuel/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
Today we read Ruth 1-4, and Psalm 149 which is in the same days as the judges ruled, it’s during the cycle of sin. Marty Solomon and Brent Billings from the Bema project refer to this as a story about the immigrant, the widow, and the future king. Dr. Mackie describes the book of Ruth as a BIG message in a SHORT story. He describes it as a story about God and how Yahweh restores those who look to Him with hope. This story also describes the great-grandparents of King David, a story that is coming, and this genealogy is going to ultimately lead to Jesus. Again this story is happening at the same time as all those cycles of violence and drift from the book of Judges, so it isn’t and wasn’t all corrupt and tragic Israelites, there were a few faithful families. Marty Solomon says this family illustrates how a few families listened, remembered, and obeyed as they were putting God on display and being prodigally generous as they cared for the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. The book of Ruth shows how God is constructing his grand story out of the small, seemingly inconsequential stories of everyday people.
Resources:
Dr. Mackie, Tim. Ruth: BIG Message in a SHORT Story. The Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/articles/ruth-big-message-short-story/
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings (July, 2017). A Love Story. Episode 37. https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/37
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Warning, this story has adult themes. Today we read Joshua 17-21 and Psalm 148. The Israelites hit rock bottom, this is the pinnacle of tragedy. This is the end of the book of Judges, the story is pointing to the need for a different way and we know this story is followed by Samuel a story that leads to King David and beyond, it points to the need and hope of a messianic king, Jesus. The story of Judges is disturbing and should be, it points to the corruption of the Israelites, the people God chose to be a part of His rescue mission and to put God on display, helping other navigate to atonement, interceding for the lost and rebellious in prayer, and being prodigally generous. While there are maybe three calls out to God about the Benjamites, this story is largely individuals and the assembly making their own choices about what is good and bad, it is largely or at least ambiguous not in alignment with God’s law and character. At this point, the Israelites including the priesthood and judges had fallen so far away from God’s intentions that even the tribe called to be priests and protectors of priests had fallen. So the next story will be about kings, let’s see what happens.
Resource:
Solomon, Marty and Billings, Bret (2017) The Redemption Cycle, Episode 36. BEMA Discipleship Podcast https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/36
Dr. Mackie, Tim and Collins, Jon. Judges Summary, Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/judges/
https://bibleproject.com/blog/judges-messianic-hope/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Tuesday May 09, 2023
Today we read Judges 13-16 and Psalm 146 and 147. This is not a child’s tale, while I used to think so when I recall what I learned about Samson. We learn about a man who is given a unique role in Israel and the gift of strength, but instead of using this strength to lead, he uses it for pleasure and revenge. The book of Judges is a tragedy yet it has Messianic hope, delivered time and time again, when God raised up a deliverer at His people’s cry for help. This story reminds us of the cycle of revenge which always escalates and it does not end. Revenge cannot articulate goals besides get even or teach a lesson but what does it mean to get even and is a lesson actually taught is never clear, revenge is a desire that does not have clarity for when it is quenched, this is what makes it particularly dangerous, it is circular. Revenge sells the myth that a situation can be fixed or redeemed with violence, but redemption can never come through violence, it does not bring peace or restoration. Only love can bring redemption and only God’s love can bring the life shifting sustainable type of redemption.
Resource:
Solomon, Marty and Billings, Bret (2017) The Redemption Cycle, Episode 36. BEMA Discipleship Podcast https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/36
Dr. Mackie, Tim and Collins, Jon. Judges Summary, Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/judges/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.