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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Today we clearly read about a bad judge, Jephthah, Dr. Mackie describes him as a mafia tribal chiefdom from the hills, who the elders of Israel went to for deliverance and while Jephthah was a good warrior he was entirely unfamiliar with the God of Israel and treated God more like a Canaanite god by making an oath to sacrifice the first thing or person that came through the door - note there is a total lack of Yahweh’s response to this oath - and the first person to walk through his door was his only child, his daughter. And while she isn’t a baby, this story does read more like child sacrifice and Canaanite worship than anything we’ve been reading about Yahweh God and His laws, will, and ways for His people. Remember the story of Abraham and Isaac, where Yahweh provided the sacrifice in place of Isaac which was a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for us and differentiates the God of Israel from all the other near eastern ancient religions of that time. Dr. Mackie describes how at this point, Israel and its leader do not seem to remember the character of their own God, Yahweh. Jephthah also orders the kills of tens of thousands of other Israelites. For me, this is an ongoing reminder that the theme we’ve been reading is the #1 way to avoid drift and forgetting is to come close to God and His Word, remember the story, who He is, what He’s done, and His purpose and ways, the inheritance, the rescue mission. What an awesome God we serve!
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.
Saturday May 06, 2023
Saturday May 06, 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 05, 2023
Friday May 05, 2023
Today we read Judges 6-9 and Psalm 130. The story of Gideon, amongst other stories of grabs for leadership, we get this confusing mix of God selecting a representative leader to deliver Israel from the adversary, but that leader seems to lack faith and knowledge in Yahweh God - not to mention lacking obedience to God’s commands. This is a story of God’s faithfulness to His people, even in cycles of rebellion. The book of Judges is presenting judges in a spiral, as Dr. Mackie describes from pretty good, to ok, to bad, to worse. This story is in the ok category, bad to worse is tomorrow.
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.
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Today we read Judges 1-5 and Psalm 129. This story falls on the heels of the story of Joshua. Another generation, but this one had forgotten the story and Yahweh God, they had integrated into their neighboring Canaanite ways of worshiping other gods in morally depraved ways including child sacrifice. When God calls His people to be in the world to bless the world, but not of it, remembering and obeying God’s commands are critically important - this wasn't it. In response, God gave the people of Israel over to the adversary they wanted and that adversary oppressed them. But, then in their suffering and distress, they remembered and called out to God and He delivered them. This starts a cycle of rebellion where the people sin grievously against God, they become oppressed by their adversary, they repent, are delivered and find rest. Then it happens all over again. The first few judges God raised up to deliver Israel seem aligned with what we’ve seen the pattern of leaders to be like such as Joshua and Moses. We are introduced to Deborah, the second woman to be named a prophet. She is described as a rescuer and military aid to Israel which echoes back to Genesis 2, where Eve was described as Adam’s “ezer,” which is Hebrew for rescuer, ally, the one who can help. Yet, the cycle of rebellion and God’s faithful deliverance continues but the leaders will get progressively worse from here.
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.
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Today we read Joshua 18-24 and Psalm 128. This is a story that focuses on the geographic location of the promised land and what it means. The prpromisedand is the beginning, it comes with missional purpose and it’s located, as Marty Solomon says, at the crossroads of earth. It was at the center of the ancient world, particularly for trade and travel. God’s people were to put Him on display and be accessible and a blessing to all the world.
Resources:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings (2017). The Hardest Story in the Bible (for me) BEMA Podcast https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/34
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins (Feb. 2020) 8 minutes 48 seconds. Overview Joshua Summary. Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/joshua/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Today we read Joshua 13-17 and Psalm 126. This is a story of God fulfilling the promise He made to Abraham in Genesis. The tribes of Israel are being given the promised land, an inheritance. We also read snippets of Canaanites still controlling some areas and still living in close proximity to some of the tribes. This might be a hint of what might happen next in the story. We also reflect back to Joshua 4 and 5 in the commentary to discuss what a standing stone means and to reflect on the standing stones in our lives.
Resources:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings (2017). The Hardest Story in the Bible (for me) BEMA Podcast https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/34
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins (Feb. 2020) 8 minutes 48 seconds. Overview Joshua Summary. Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/joshua/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Today we read Joshua 6-12 and Psalm 125. This story is long and hard, don’t give up. Stay with me. This is a story of God’s justice but also a remembrance that God is merciful. He will bring order to chaos. But we also remember from the story so far that God is slow to anger, abounds in love, is quick to forgive, and loves 1000 generations, yet holds 3 generations accountable. This is a story of war, but is it hyperbole? What is the theological truth that is rising to the surface? Is it that God is the architect of victory? He delivers on His promises, and that God can even restore and redeem a Canaanite who chooses Him such as Rahab and her family along with the Gibeonites?
Resources:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings (2017). The Hardest Story in the Bible (for me) BEMA Podcast https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/34
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins (Feb. 2020) 8 minutes 48 seconds. Overview Joshua Summary. Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/joshua/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Saturday Apr 29, 2023
Saturday Apr 29, 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 Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Today we read Joshua 1-5 and Psalm 123. This story picks up as the second generation from Exodus prepares to cross the Jordan River to participate in God’s battle. In Joshua 2:22 we get this sense when the spies say their enemies are afraid of them and that this is a fight between Israel and Canaan. Then when Joshua himself in verse 5:13 says to what is described as a man with a drawn sword in his hand, “are you for us or our enemies?” And in air quotes, this man says “neither.” The man says, “but as commander for the army of the Lord, I have come.” This too points out the dislocation of thinking and the reorientation by the Angel of the Lord. The battle is God’s. He is the architect of victory and He is sending the one that will crush the adversary, the agent of chaos, the Satan. The people of Israel must remember, obey, and keep oriented in their role in the story as representatives for God, He is not our representative in a fight between us and others.
Resources:
Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins (Feb. 2020) 8 minutes 48 seconds. Overview Joshua Summary. Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/joshua/
Matthew Whitman (Jan 2023). Bible06 - Joshua (13 minutes) The Ten Minute Bible Hour https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bible06-joshua/id1031363405?i=1000593370538
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Today we read Numbers 35-36, Deuteronomy 34, and Psalm 121. This is the end of the story of the Torah, the end of Numbers and Deuteronomy. We read that God is the giver of inheritance and Israel cannot pass the inheritance to those outside the tribe. Moses was given the greatest compliment by the author that reported his death, Moses was referred to as a servant of the Lord. That’s not just servant leadership, but God-centered servant leadership. We are reminded that even the best humans and leaders, such as Moses, fail, and even when good successors such as Joshua take their place, the hope and security of Israel, of us, can only be in God himself.
Resources:
Dr. Millar, Gary (2023) A Deuteronomy Commentary, The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/deuteronomy/
Adrian Reynolds (2023) A Numbers Commentary, The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/numbers/#section-14
Theology of Work. Retrieved from https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/deuteronomy-and-work/the-end-of-moses-work-deuteronomy-3113412/
Dr. Mackie, Tim and Collins, Jim What's the Point of Deuteronomy? https://bibleproject.com/podcast/whats-point-deuteronomy/
Credits:
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.