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
Thursday Aug 17, 2023
Thursday Aug 17, 2023
Today we read Isaiah 16-17, Joel 1-3, and Proverbs 10:21-24.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Wednesday Aug 16, 2023
Wednesday Aug 16, 2023
Today we read Isaiah 10-15 and Proverbs 10:13-20.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Today we read Isaiah 5-9, and Proverbs 10:1-12. We read more warnings through powerful rhetoric that conjures imagery and analogy which is strengthened by an understanding of the context. The prophet Isaiah speaks about the child, the son, the one called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The one who will establish justice and righteousness now and forever.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Today we read Isaiah 1-4 and Proverbs 9:7-18. We started what New Testament figures describe as the most influential prophet.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Saturday Aug 12, 2023
Saturday Aug 12, 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 Aug 11, 2023
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Today we read 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 35-36, Proverbs 8:22-36, and Proverbs 9:1-6. This is the end of the story of the two kingdoms of Israel. Now the southern kingdom, like the northern kingdom is exiled. It is time for a reckoning.
Resources:
Dr. Tim Mackie (2017) 6. Israel's Exile: Hitting Bottom - Eat This Book. Tim Mackie Archives: https://youtu.be/EXGKgnv_RYU
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
Today we read 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 33-24, and Proverbs 7, 8:1-21. In this story, we are reminded of God's grace and His justice. The leaders and people of the Southern Kingdom idolized other gods, places, and practices, adulterating their hearts. This defect led to a soul drift that deformed their behaviors away from the commands and covenant with their God, our God. Yes, even with the evil king Manasseh, God showed mercy to him when he repented and humbled himself in his own exile. God restored Manasseh to his home. Yes, the story seems to describe how God gave time to kings who were faithful, allowing them to not see in their lifetime the exile. Unlike a wilderness journey where the people volunteer to go, although uncertain and scared, an exile is an unwanted removal from somewhere to somewhere else. Both may feel like a dislocation from the culture and physical places known. There is danger, fear, and suffering, in both places. Yet we know God is still working in the story. He hears our prayers and sees our tears. With God, there will be the offer of rescue, redemption, a restoration, but the when, how, where, and why are entirely up to His wisdom. We rest in the knowing that God is slow to anger. He does not hold onto His anger forever. His desire for love and mercy are greater and His compassion is stirred in our suffering at the hands of the adversary, at our desire to be with Him, in His story, our repentance, and our seeking of Him. We must make the decision to pursue Him with our whole heart and soul, transformed by Him into the action of obedience to His covenant and commands.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Today we read 2 Kings 20-21, 2 Chronicles 31-32, and Psalm 143-144. We read about a God who hears prayers and sees tears. We read about a people who are blessed because they are God's people, not for any other reason. We also read that the blessings, like in this story where God gives riches to King Hezekiah and God blessing him with an extension to his life, these things may have given him or drawn out his pride. We are also reminded that God sees our hearts. He knows whether we love Him with our whole heart or we love to "make things happen" more. Are we willing to make alliances with those we know reject God and seek to replace Him with other things? Do we "show" others what we are and what we have in a way that says "look at my name" and look at what I have instead of, "look at my God," and look at what He has done for us and blessed us with? Maybe we can ask ourselves questions in the presence of others, even our enemies, how can I help intercede for them to the Lord? How can I help them navigate to Him for atonement? How can I help them see God's character and name in how I live and lead? How can I show God's justice, mercy, and humility by being prodigally generous in a way that points back to God? What is my free will offering look like?
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Today we read 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 29-30, and Psalm 141-142. In this story, we read about King Hezekiah being faithful and listening to the messengers of God, the prophets. He restores worship to Yahweh and takes down the places to worship false gods. He invites all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, while many ridicule and refuse some come from the various tribes, even foreigners to worship in Jerusalem and it reads that God gave the people unity, one mind. Many of the people who came were not clean and the king interceded for them in prayer, asking for God to pardon those that seek Him with their whole heart. In response, God intercedes and heals the people, answering the king's intercessory prayer. We read that God will not only preserve a band of survivors a remnant but He will give them roots to flourish. There is hope for the future and a reminder that God is compassionate. He is our refuge, even through the hard seasons.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Today we read 2 Kings 17, Micah 5-7, and Psalm 140. Like the story from Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve are exiled from the garden of Eden for their moral defection, and later in Genesis where Jacob's sons and their descendants are sent into exile in Egypt, in this story, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is exiled for their unfaithfulness. We also know the Southern Kingdom of Judah will also be exiled for their unfaithfulness. Yet, in all those stories, there is a glimmer of hope, God-given promises of rescue and redemption. Some of the promises were fulfilled, like God delivering them from Egypt and making the tribes of Jacob into the nation of Israel, and some God-given promises are yet to be fulfilled in the story, hint - the foreshadowing of a high priest, messianic, King, Jesus who will crush the adversary and deliver His people. We end the book of Micah and listen carefully to the prophet's message from the Lord. God's not only slow to anger but He delights in mercy and His people will again experience His compassion.
Although we don’t deserve it and it is not based on our merit, He will hurl our sin into the depths of the sea. God must judge and pull out the evil, but God is described as delighting in the covenant of love and compassion. He is a healer, redeemer, restorer. We read what the Lord wants from Israel, from us, in our response to Him in Micah 6 and 7, to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This is goodness. The prophet Micah also models a posture of living through hard seasons, to watch in hope for the Lord, to wait for God our Savior and to have faith that God will hear us, hear our prayers.
Credits
Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.